2054 AL Albatross List

[MetDaMeats]

The Commish commanded we produce articles and I am just the housebound introvert to write them! Is it a bit pre-mature? Sure. But I'll just make updates if someone makes a big signing, extension or trade over the next few sims. Sorry I missed 2053, but the second I finished typing the AL list my computer's hard drive died. I just didn't have it in me to start over. But that's in the past! Let's look towards the future! THE FINANCIAL FUTURE!


LEGEND:
* A great contract. No need to worry.
** Has some downside, but could make you look pretty smart.
*** A few red flags that could go either way.
**** This contract may be having a negative impact on the team.
***** Severe Albatross potential on every level.

Baltimore Orioles
**** (No change) Jose Lopez (RF)

• $140 Mill through 2057. 
• So… I kept starring at Lopez’s stats trying to figure out how he could go from 1.7 WAR in 2051 to 3.1 WAR in 2053, while getting demonstrably worse in almost all areas of his batting. And I figured it out! I think that extra WAR just came from his passable RF defense, rather than being a DH. So, I’m going to vote for no change here. I’m just as concerned for his value as I ever have been. 

*** (New) Jen-Kan Hu (3B)

• $91 Mill through 2060.
  $13 Mill player option in 2061. 
• Hu can play reasonable defense at all infield positions. Plus he’s making the level of salary I want to pay for a guy with lots of skills, but little power. My problem is the years. I’ve seen some players' infield defensive abilities drop precipitously in their 30s. He could be an anemic DH by 35. 

Boston Red Sox
**** (No change) Roberto Serrano (OF)

• $103.26 Mill through 2056.
• $2.5 Mill bonus for 550 PAs.
• $2.5 Mill MVP bonus.
• $1 Mill All-Star bonus.
• It’s a hard fact. He plays a perfect corner outfield, but if you want to keep his prodigious bat in the lineup it’s going to have to be as a DH. The injuries destroyed his value last year and show no sign of letting up. Fielding is just too risky. 

Chicago White Sox
**** (No change) Fernando Gonzalez (SS)

• $150 Mill through 2060.
• $20 Mill player option in 2061.
• Normally, you have to take a subpar bat with superb fielding, or vice versa. But Fernando might be the best offensive/defensive combo I’ve ever seen in the infield. But it’s really, really risky to bet on him continuing to be a viable player with his age and injury history. As much I want my old player to succeed, I have a bad feeling about the number of years on this deal. 

** (-1 star) Steve Guindon (3B)

• $120.5 Mill through 2056.
• $37.5 Mill player option in 2057.
• I’m a tiny bit paranoid. It’s really hard to live up to a $40 Million dollar contract! Especially when you’re in your mid-30s! But Guindon’s one of the best third baseman around. The White Sox had the cash and I can’t begrudge them for spending it on a genuine star. 

** (No change) Cesar Perez (C)

• $90 Mill through 2057.
• $20 Mill player option in 2059.
• Perez was much more valuable to the pale Sox when the Indians were paying his salary. That being said, he’d be challenging for the home run lead in the AL every year if he didn’t need a catcher's weekly rest. 

Cleveland Indians
** (New) Carlos Rocha (SP)

• $78.15 Mill through 2056.
• Player opt out after 2056.
• $52.1 Mill through 2058
• $4 Mill Cy Young award Bonus.
• $1 Mill All Star bonus.
• Is it just me, or is offering a player an extravagant Cy Young bonus a not-so-subtle insult? It’s basically just a blatant statement that you don’t think the guy has a chance of earning it. Note that 2053 CY Young Winner Alfredo Sanchez only received a $555,000 bonus as opposed to Rocha's $4 million. 

** (New) Alfredo Sanchez (SP)

• $141.68 Mill through 2057. 
• Player opt out after 2057. 
• $73 Mill through 2059. 
• $30 Mill team option with an $8 Mill buyout in 2060. 
• Promised role: Starting pitcher. 
• In 2057 Alfredo Sanchez will earn a mind-melting $45.6 Million dollars for one year of work. No other pitcher is on the books for making more money than that in a season. In fact, only one other player in the league has more guaranteed money for a single year and we’ll get to him in the NL list. 

* (-1 star) Tse-Tung Jue (LF)

• $17 Mill through 2054.
• $17 Mill player option in 2055.
• A defensive liability, but isn’t going to cause many problems playing first base. All in all, when a guy bats over .300 for three years straight with this much raw power, it’s hard to quibble about minor details like “playing a position adequately.” 

Colorado Rockies
*** (New) Albert Hernandez (OF)

• $53 Mill through 2057. 
• $13.25 team option in 2058 with a $3.3125 Mill buyout. 
• $13.17 team option in 2058 with a $3.3125 Mill buyout. 
• $1 Mill bonus form 550 PAs. 
• $1 Mill MVP bonus. 
• Promised role: Starting lineup. 
• Before he passed on and left control of the team to his lenient, charitable, hands-off son, my former owner had one wish: For me to sign an MVP winning player. Well, old friend, this one’s for you. 

** (New) Sarsa-Dengal Robienayai (SP)

• $140 Mill through 2058.
• $28 Mill team option in 2059 with a $8 Mill buyout.
• $27.9 Mill team option in 2060with a $8 Mill buyout.
• $1.5 Mill MVP award bonus.
• $1.5 Mill Cy Young award bonus.
• Promised role: Starting pitcher.
• I believe in my heart that if Robie was pitching somewhere other than the launching pad of Coors, he’d probably have a Cy Young right now. So, I gave him all my money. 

Detroit Tigers
*** (New) Douglas Pittman (C)

• $45 Mill through 2057.
• Your prototypical journeyman. A bit pricey for a guy how should primarily be platooning against lefties, but not a tremendous extravagance for a team with a large budget. The Tigers aren’t that team, but there should be plenty of trade partners if they are looking to move him. 

Houston Astros
* (New) Mike Aitkenhead (RF)

• $61 Mill through 2057.
• I felt a great disturbance in the league. As if 15 AL owners suddenly cried out in terror… And were suddenly silenced. 

* (New) Al O’Brien (LF)

• $44 Mill through 2057.
• You ever see the movie Shane? And how it ends with a little kid yelling “SHANE! COME BACK!” while a cowboy rides off into the distance? Anyway. That’s how the entire league has felt, I think. Everyone except the NL East, who are more than happy to see Mr. Callahan switch leagues.

Kansas City Royals
**** (New) Pedro Mulert (RP)

• $28 Mill through 2055. 
• Player opt out after 2055. 
• $73 Mill through 2059. 
• $18 Mill team option in 2060 with a $4.5 Mill buyout. 
• This contract illustrates the first thing I despise about opt out clauses. For the second thing, see Jose Contreras below. Mulert signed his contract, got injured, and now has the aim of pre-glasses Charlie Sheen from Major League. But he has a huge amount of cash coming to him after his opt out and there is absolutely no chance he doesn’t grab it.  

*** (New) Enrique Herrera (RF)

• $60 Mill through 2057. 
• $15 Mill team option in 2058 with a $4.05 Mill buyout. 
• $15 Mill team option in 2059 with a $4.05 Mill buyout.
• It’s not a tremendous amount of cash, but I still qualify this as an overpay. As long as KC doesn’t need this money when it comes time to sign Wen Zhui long-term, it’s not a real problem. 

*** (New) Mario Medina (C)

• $172 Mill through 2058.
• $37 Mill team option in 2059 with a $9.25 Mill buyout.
• There are no questions about the value of his bat. But I do have one worry. Suppose his defense begins to degrade. He’s always been a pretty average catcher when it comes to Zone Rating, but if gets even a little worse at the position he may need a full time switch to first or DH. That could eat into his value. 

* (New) Jose Contreras (SS)

• $58 Mill through 2057. 
• Player opt out after 2057. 
• $60 Mill through 2061. 
• $15 Mill player option in 2062. 
• I, in no uncertain terms, hate opt outs. They are never ever good things for a team. This is a nice, team-friendly contract. But any time you want a player to stick around, he inevitably tests free agency. I’m going to bet, right now, that Contreras opts out and becomes a very highly paid 34 year old. 

* (-1 star) Bill Kachmar (RF)

• $117. 5 Mill through 2058.
• Player opt out after 2058.
• $53.6 Mill through 2060.
• $26.3 Mill team option in 2061 with a $6.795 Mill buyout.
• $26.3 Mill team option in 2062 with a $6.795 Mill buyout.
• After you stare at some of the bigger money deals for superstars throughout the league (Dan Turner, Alfredo Sanchez, heck, even Mario Medina) you begin to get some perspective about how thrifty this deal really is. 

Los Angeles Angels
*** (New) John Beatty (2B)

• $32 Mill through 2055.
• $19 Mill team option in 2056 with a $2.85 Mill buyout.
• $19 Mill vesting option in 2057 after 100 games played.
• Beatty put up average defense at second last year but his skills there are degrading. With Alex Carras now locked in at first, and plentiful other options at DH, I’m not sure there’s anywhere left to put him if he can’t handle second any longer. 

** (New) Alex Carras (1B)

• $89.5 Mill through 2059.
• $14 Mill player option in 2060.
• The Angels have a problem: They have too many good, young players. Now, you might be inclined to say it’s a not a bad problem to have. And you’re right! But I’m forced to ask myself, when Jaime Mejia, Kenzaburo Sato, Steve Brown and Norberto Guzman all come asking for long-term deals at around the same time, are the Angels going to have to send one of them packing because they’ve committed that money to Carras? I’m just not sure. 

Minnesota Twins
**** (+1 star) Guilhem Ciaravella (SS)

• $80 Mill through 2055.
• $40 Mill player option in 2056.
• He’s not a full 5-star albatross because his value is still very, very real. But this is almost the epitome of an albatross contract. It also shows a huge advantage that large market teams have over their mid-tier competitors. The Yankees, for instance, can absorb $40 million in a contract they wish they could dispense with, and still make other moves. However, while Ciaravella is burdening Minnesota’s budget they have nearly no financial wiggle room to do much of anything. 

New York Yankees
*** (New) Steve Bauer (3B)

• $124 Mill through 2058.
• $24 Mill team option in 2053 with a $6.5 Mill buyout.
• So there I was. Eye to eye with the Yankees in a starring contest over who would sign Bauer. And dammit, I blinked. It wasn’t the contract that spooked me, it was the years. I desperately wanted him to take 3 guaranteed years and two team options. But he wasn’t having it. Best of luck, pal! I’ll settle for Mr. Mall Doss, I guess. 

*** (New) Kevin Lopez (SP)

• $120 Mill through 2057.
• $30 Mill player option in 2058.
• Oh, that traitor Kevin Lopez. He opted out of his contract right when I needed him and hopped a private plane to the Bronx. Gotta hand it to him. He leveraged a career year into a massive contract during his 30s. That’s no mean feat. 

*** (New) Jorge Taylor (SS)

• $80 Mill through 2055.
• Player opt out after 2055.
• $135 Mill through 2059.
• $30 Mill team option in 2060 with a $10 Mill buyout.
• $30 Mill team option in 2061 with a $10 Mill buyout.
• Had Jorge Taylor not spent a month on the DL, he may have challenged Pierre Boucher for the MVP. But he did, and he will again. Every year he goes to play infield instead of DHing is another roll of the dice with his continued health. But, I suppose if anyone can afford to gamble with these sums of money it’s the Yankees. 

* (No change) Carl Holmes (CF)

• $37.77 Mill through 2055.
• $21.6 Mill team option in 2056 with a $8.75 Mill buyout.
• $25.91 Mill team option in 2057 with a $8.75 Mill buyout.
• He’s slowly leaving the absurdly team-friendly portion of his contract and entering the rather team-friendly portion of his contract. Didn’t like those injuries last year, but I’m not terrified for him just yet. 

Oakland Athletics
**** (+3 stars) Cisco Medina (1B)

• $27 Mill through 2055.
• Medina had an off year last year, and I could imagine a world where he bounces back. But the problem is that he is a write-off against lefties. It’s destroying his value. 

*** (+2 stars) Mel Wolfe (2B)

• $31.06 Mill through 2055.
• Two big issues with Wolfe. First, he used to be a below average fielding SS and a better than average second baseman. Now he’s a terrible SS and a below average second baseman. Second, he hasn’t hit over .225 for the past three years. He’s got valuable power, but those facts might make him tricky to trade him without eating some cash. 

Seattle Mariners
*** (+1 star) Alfredo Rojas (CL)

• $43.21 Mill through 2056.
• Seattle has a philosophy and they stick to it. They keep their players young and they keep them cheap. Rojas is at the more expensive end of that doctrine, but still fits. The injury is rough and I’m also a little concerned about his ratings against lefty batters. 

Tampa Bay Rays
**** (+1 star) Jim Chesney (3B)

• $39.26 Mill through 2055.
• Player opt out after 2055.
• $63.9 Mill through 2058.
• I waffled on Chesney for a long time but I think I’m ready to make a determination. The days of his .270 hitting are behind him, and from here on in he’s mostly a defensive infielder with a tendency to walk a lot. Solid, but overpaid. 

* (New) Jose Rodriguez (RP)

• $40.71 Mill through 2056.
• $12.57 Mill team option in 2057 with a $3.6425 Mill buyout.
• $12.57 Mill team option in 2058 with a $3.6425 Mill buyout.
• The second I saw this sweetheart deal that Jose accepted from the Rays, I knew I had made a mistake in not pushing all my chips in during free agency. He’s got the capacity to be one of those rarest of things, a reliever worth upwards of $20 Mill. Every penny less than that is a huge win for Tampa Bay. 

Texas Rangers
** (New) Brady Henderson (3B)

• $192 Mill through 2059.
• $32 Mill player option in 2060.
• $16.5 Mill in 2055.
• A masterful sign and trade for Miami. Considering his talent, they didn’t get a lot from the Rangers for one of the best players out there. But with the extension there probably weren’t many suitors to pick from. At very least they got more than they paid for him, plus a trip to the 2053 playoffs. Let’s just ignore the fact that Brady only hit .212 while he was in Florida. It’s probably unimportant. 

** (+1 star) Amghar Sumait (LF)

• $31 Mill through 2054.
• Player opt out after 2054.
• $16.5 Mill in 2055.
• $18 Mill team option in 2056 with a $5 Mill buyout.
• $18 Mill team option in 2057 with a $5 Mill buyout.
• Huh. Something really weird happened to Amghar last year. Admittedly, he was unlikely to hit .347 like he did in 2052, but a hundred point average drop is kinda unheard of without an injury. I still can’t find it in my heart to ding him too badly for it though. I can’t see it happening twice. 

* (New) Oliver de Kok (CF)

• $42 Mill through 2056.
• Player opt out after 2056.
• $54 Mill through 2059.
• $18 Mill in 2060 with a $5 Mill buyout.
• $20 Mill in 2061 with a $5 Mill buyout.
• Don’t be fooled. This is only a 3 year contract. This guy is too skilled and too young to do anything but opt out in 2056. Unless… Do the Rangers have blackmail photos of him and a sheep? If so, that is both incredibly lucrative and fodder for a potential nickname. Maybe, Oliver “Wool-gatherer” de Kok. 

Toronto Blue Jays
This is the way the list ends. This is the way the list ends. This is the way the list ends. Not with a bang, but a whimper. UPBEAT AND TIMELY!

[Will - Cubs]

Wow! Very nice article. Lot of time involved! Appreciate the work on this! ..........also, glad the Cubs aren't really on it

[sansterre - Milwaukee Brewers]

I have a hunch that no matter how many bad contracts you signed, Ben would keep you out of this article.

Because he's a tender soul.

No other reason.

[MetDaMeats]

Mar 20, 2020 18:34:00 GMT -5 Will - Cubs said:

Wow! Very nice article. Lot of time involved! Appreciate the work on this! ..........also, glad the Cubs aren't really on it

Sorry to say, NL should be coming tomorrow. But any criticisms are all in fun. Everyone makes good and bad signings. Sometimes good one turn into bad ones over time. Anyone can wind up with an albatross. 

[Rich - Former GM]

Albatross list, how I missed thee.

[Texas Rangers]

This is always great and every time I sign a big contract I think of how many stars it will receive. I am this list's biggest fan!

[Sean..Mariners GM]

Philosophy...hahaha!! I have no idea what I'm doing I missed the albatross list as well!!