Post by MetDaMeats on Sept 9, 2020 19:19:48 GMT -5
Hey new guys! This is my seasonal article about the longest and largest contracts in the league! First rule, contract size is relative (some teams can afford to spend $40 million on one player, and for others its their entire payroll). If I ever need a tie-breaker to decide if a contract is an Albatross I imagine how tradable it might be. Second, any contract that only has one year of guaranteed (non team option) money is non-albatross, no matter how large it is. Finally, it's all in good fun. Everyone's had an Albatross at one time or another. Any contract critiques are purely for entertainment and not to be taken to heart!
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)
*** (+1 star) Jen-Kan Hu (3B)
*** (No change) Phil Wilson (LF)
** (New) Jorge Ramirez (C)
Boston Red Sox
*** (No change) Orlando Garcia (3B)
Chicago White Sox
**** (+1 star) Fernando Gonzalez (SS)
** (New) Angelo Cruz (RF)
** (New) Harry Casz (DH)
* (No change) Steve Guindon (3B)
Cleveland Indians
*** (No change) Alfredo Sanchez (SP)
* (-1 star) Carlos Rocha (SP)
* (New) Joe McGee (3B)
* (No change) Kip Blue (SP)
Colorado Rockies
*** (+1 star) Albert Hernandez (CF)
*** (New) Eric Byford (3B)
** (No change) Duane Hansen (DH)
* (No change) Sarsa-Dengal Robienayai (3B)
Detroit Tigers
** (No change) Douglas Pittman (C)
* (New) Jotaro Inagaki (SS)
Houston Astros
* (New) Walt Perez (SP)
Kansas City Royals
***** (No change) Pedro Mulert (SP)
**** (No change) Enrique Herrera (RF)
**** (+2 stars) Jose Contreras (SS)
*** (No change) Mario Medina (C)
** (No change) Bill Kachmar (RF)
Los Angeles Angels
**** (No change) Alec Carras (1B)
**** (New) John Beatty (OF? DH? 1B?)
Minnesota Twins
*** (New) Lee Peterson (2B)
New York Yankees
***** (NEW) Guilhelm Ciaravella (SS)
*** (No change) Felix Gomez (C)
*** (No change) Kevin Lopez (SP)
*** (+1 star) Jorge Taylor (SS)
** (New) Ivan Gomez (1B)
** (New) Jin-song Xiu (1B)
** (No change) Steve Bauer (3B)
Oakland Athletics
*** (New) Cesar Perez (C)
* (New) Vincent Owens (RF)
Seattle Mariners
There is exactly $4.5 million in guaranteed money on the Seattle books for 2057. No albatrosses here.
Tampa Bay Rays
**** (New) Katsuyuk Johnson (LF)
*** (-1 star) Jim Chesney (3B)
** (-1 star) John Miller (SP)
Texas Rangers
** (+1 star) Oliver de Kok (CF)
* (-1 star) Brady Henderson (3B)
* (-1 star) Edward Boer (SP)
Toronto Blue Jays
For the second year in a row, the Jays have the smallest player payroll of any team in the league. Literally half the payroll of the next largest team. So yeah, not an albatross to be seen.
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)
- $70 Mill through 2057.
- The question here is whether being a better than average player making superstar cash is worthy of a five star Albatross rating. My instinct is no. There’s still value there. I think he could be traded if the Orioles ate a large portion of the contract.
*** (+1 star) Jen-Kan Hu (3B)
- $65 Mill through 2060.
- $13 Mill player option in 2061.
- Hu’s right on the borderline. Last year notwithstanding, he tends to perform just well enough at a sparse position to justify a contract in the low teens. The downside is that if his ratings drop just a little he will be reduced to replacement level. There’s not going be a slow decline for this guy.
*** (No change) Phil Wilson (LF)
- $31.36 Mill through 2057.
- I will not be swayed by his monster 2055. When a guy has an outlier year like this in their late 30’s, the likelihood of repeating it is low. For a personal example, check out Albert Hernandez’s 2054 (6.5 WAR, batting .300) versus his 2055 (0.3 WAR, batting .228).
** (New) Jorge Ramirez (C)
- $50.44 Mill through 2049.
- An interesting purchase. I was right there on the bidding for him, but I refused to guarantee the last 2 years of my 4 year offer. He’s not a great catcher, so I fear what the ravages of time will do to him. That being said, I think this has a real shot of being a bargain for the Orioles if he can maintain his current skill level.
Boston Red Sox
*** (No change) Orlando Garcia (3B)
- $75.79 Mill through 2058.
- $25.93 Mill team option in 2059 with a $10 Mill buyout.
- $2.5 Mill MVP bonus.
- $1 Mill All-Star bonus.
- If you routinely bat above .300, a lot of holes in your game can be forgiven. But the second you have a .295 season I start asking myself about whether walks or isolated power might be important too. Focusing on nagging topics like those can make it uncomfortable while signing that $26 million dollar check.
Chicago White Sox
**** (+1 star) Fernando Gonzalez (SS)
- $108 Mill through 2060.
- $20 Mill player option in 2061.
- If the White Sox don’t have a cataclysmic series of injuries, there is a distinct possibility that the Cleveland Indians never pull off their post All-Star comeback on their way to a World Series victory. And Fernando Gonzalez was one of the supremely talented time bombs who blew up Chicago's path to a White Sox playoff berth when portions of his torso exploded.
** (New) Angelo Cruz (RF)
- $39 Mill through 2058.
- Player opt out after 2058
- $40 Mill through 2061.
- $12 Mill player option in 2062.
- I like his speed. Even the best players find it difficult to get above 15 stolen bases per year in this league, so when I see a guy who can snag 20, it isn’t anything to sneeze at. By the way, that’s a real weird expression. When did you ever pass by something that you considered average and then use sneezes to express your disdain?
** (New) Harry Casz (DH)
- $70 Mill through 2060.
- Putting Casz in the DH spot is the right move. But as his WAR drop from 2055 reveals, it is TOUGH to maintain value without the benefit of fielding. I wouldn’t overreact, but it’s not a great sign.
* (No change) Steve Guindon (3B)
- $39.5 Mill through 2056.
- $37.5 Mill player option in 2057.
- I’m going to paraphrase the immortal words of Ferris Bueller in order to describe Guindon: He is so choice. If you have the means, I highly recommend picking one up.
Cleveland Indians
*** (No change) Alfredo Sanchez (SP)
- $83.6 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.
- Sanchez is past his sell-by date. Now wait a second! I’m not saying he’s gone rotten. I imagine he has quite a few good years left in him. He’s just past the point where you can sell him for anything close to what he’s worth. It’s that strange cocktail of age and contract size which makes it near impossible to get a fair deal.
* (-1 star) Carlos Rocha (SP)
- $26.05 Mill through 2056.
- Player opt out after 2056.
- $52.1 Mill through 2058
- $4 Mill Cy Young award Bonus.
- $1 Mill All Star bonus.
- Rocha is the first of Cleveland’s three aces to get a chance to opt out at the end of this year (Blue and Sanchez both make their decision at the end of the 2057 season). But any time you’re looking at a player and begging him to take $25 million from your pocket, he probably shouldn’t be higher than 1 star.
* (New) Joe McGee (3B)
- $30 Mill through 2057.
- No complaints here. He’s not exactly in the top tier of third basemen (That would be Steve Guindon, Brady Henderson, Alfonso Salgado and Jose Varquez, if you’re wondering), but he’s on the next rung down at an affordable price.
* (No change) Kip Blue (SP)
- $28 Mill through 2057.
- $14 Mill player option in 2058.
- Seriously though, if Sanchez, Rocha and Blue all opt out, this could be a very different looking Indians team, very quickly. Fortunately, Cleveland took advantage of their short window together to earn a well-deserved championship ring.
Colorado Rockies
*** (+1 star) Albert Hernandez (CF)
- $26.5 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.
- Holy regression-to-the-mean, Batman! You know, I expected Hernandez to put up around 7 WAR over the first 2 seasons of his contract. I just expected them to be a little more evenly distributed. Going from 6.5 WAR to 0.3 WAR without a specific injury or ratings drop is more or less unheard of.
*** (New) Eric Byford (3B)
- $27 Mill through 2057.
- $13.5 Mill team option in 2058 with a $3.375 Mill buyout.
- $13.5 Mill team option in 2059 with a $3.375 Mill buyout.
- $1 Mill bonus from 550 PAs.
- A bit of an overpay, but man, this was a weak free agency. And since Paul Doss had some sort of bizarre fielding-related amnesia in the middle of last season, I was happy to find an upgrade.
** (No change) Duane Hansen (DH)
- $44 Mill through 2057.
- $16 Mill team option in 2058 with a $6 Mill buyout.
- $13 Mill team option in 2059 with a $6 Mill buyout.
- $1.5 Mill bonus from 550 PAs.
- $1.5 Mill MVP bonus.
- $1.5 Mill All Star bonus.
- Duane is the only active player on the top ten list for homeruns, with 702. He’s 4 away from Bryce Harper, 50 away from Roberto Vasti and 92 away from Alex Rodriguez (4th through 2nd place, respectively). The only thing that saddens me about shepherding Duane through the twilight of his career is that matching Sotan Kano with 909 home runs is pretty much an impossibility, unless he keeps up his current production for 4 more years. Have I mentioned that I really love Duane?
* (No change) Sarsa-Dengal Robienayai (3B)
- $84 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.
- Hey! Last year I made a remark about Robie winning the Cy Young twice in a row. Then he did! You gotta keep in mind that it's even more of a crazy feat when you consider that he pitches in Coors half the year.
Detroit Tigers
** (No change) Douglas Pittman (C)
- $34 Mill through 2057.
- I want to officially announce the PBL catcher drought. We are running out of guys behind the plate who can even kind of hit. So, from that perspective I guess Pittman is a bit of a deal. He can kind of hit.
* (New) Jotaro Inagaki (SS)
- $120 Mill through 2061.
- The previous Detroit GM didn’t get a trade offer he liked last year, and so signing Inagaki long-term was definitely the right move. But Jotaro will never, ever be more valuable than he is right at this moment. So it’s up to the new Detroit GM to decide whether he can build a viable team around him, or if it’s time to sell.
Houston Astros
* (New) Walt Perez (SP)
- $57.39 through 2059.
- Promised role: Starting Pitcher.
- A strong trade and extension by the Astros to get a tremendous pitcher at a thrifty price. In free agency, a guy like Perez would be getting 8 years at $40 Mill per year. No question.
Kansas City Royals
***** (No change) Pedro Mulert (SP)
- $73 Mill through 2059.
- $18 Mill team option in 2060 with a $4.5 Mill buyout.
- He didn’t opt out. But in all honesty, would you give your employer $73 million out of kindness? I don’t think so.
**** (No change) Enrique Herrera (RF)
- $30 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.
- He’d make for an interesting centerfielder or shortstop, but as a corner outfielder he just doesn’t cut it. He hit .276 last year, which isn’t bad. He just has no other real skills. He’s as exciting as a margarine sandwich.
**** (+2 stars) Jose Contreras (SS)
- $30 Mill through 2057.
- Player opt out after 2057.
- $60 Mill through 2061.
- $15 Mill player option in 2062.
- I’m really worried about the guy. A player with his skills should never be putting up negative WAR unless something is really wrong. Have we considered checking him for flesh eating bacteria? Because that stuff will make it hard to focus at the plate.
*** (No change) Mario Medina (C)
- $109.5 Mill through 2058.
- $37 Mill team option in 2059 with a $9.25 Mill buyout.
- Only had -4.1 Zone Rating last season, but I think it’s worth considering his effect on KC’s pitching staff. Is it worth it to have a 4.4 WAR batter if his bad pitch selection causes your starters to lose a WAR each? Of course, I have no way of proving that this is happening, but it’s food for thought.
** (No change) Bill Kachmar (RF)
- $77.9 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.
- Hey! We all notice Kachmar’s bat but have you noticed that he’s also the nicest guy ever? He is, in fact, the only guy in the PBL with positive rankings in all his possible personality traits. I’m going to say it. Bill Kachmar is the perfect man.
Los Angeles Angels
**** (No change) Alec Carras (1B)
- $60 Mill through 2059.
- $14 Mill player option in 2060.
- The biggest problem the Angels are facing right now is that they have 3 DH’s. Carras, John Beatty, and Jose Vera. One can get shunted over to first, one win the Designated Hitter role, leaving the third... As ball boy?
**** (New) John Beatty (OF? DH? 1B?)
- $19 Mill through 2056.
- $19 Mill vesting option in 2057 after 100 games.
- So the Angel’s have a nasty choice. With Jaime Mejia and Kenzaburo Sato in arbitration contracts, the Angels have a definite change to challenge for the AL West. But, if they use Beatty too much they may be on the hook for his contract next year. The big question: Is it more of liability to have his $19 million sitting on the bench, or have him taking up valuable money next year if his 2057 contract vests?
Minnesota Twins
*** (New) Lee Peterson (2B)
- $24 Mill through 2057.
- $12 Mill team option in 2058 with a $3 Mill buyout.
- $12 Mill team option in 2059 with a $3 Mill buyout.
- Peterson has been a favorite of mine since his time as one of the four star middle-infielders on the same Chicago White Sox team (the others were Steve Guindon, Freddy Rodriguez and Fernando Gonzalez). But it’s time to face the facts. Lee’s not fit for any position other than first base anymore. You’re still a hero in my book, Lee!
New York Yankees
***** (NEW) Guilhelm Ciaravella (SS)
- $135.5 Mill through 2059.
- $32.5 Mill player option in 2060.
- A truly stunning series of events. Guilhelm opted out of $40 million dollars in Minnesota, and then, as if by magic, signed this stunner of a contract with the Yankees. But then the truth came out. Guilhelm was on the juice, the cream, the clear, HGH, and maybe even the blood of virgins. We can’t be sure. Since he’s been in the league he’s been known for two things: A monster glove an and an absurd homerun swing. If he returns from his 80 game suspension with a sharp decline in power… What does that mean in the Bronx? If I’m being honest, it probably just means that the Yankees will just sign another $40 million shortstop next year.
*** (No change) Felix Gomez (C)
- $76 Mill through 2060.
- Every year I expect it to be the season Gomez hits sub .200. And every year, he does just fine. Did anyone else notice he’s been in the Yankees organization his entire career? That surprised me. Somehow I just assumed he was a free agent purchase.
*** (No change) Kevin Lopez (SP)
- $60 Mill through 2057.
- $30 Mill player option in 2058.
- I noticed that Kevin had 12 Complete Games in his career and thought, “Well. That has to be noteworthy, right?” Unfortunately, Roy Halladay had 58, so I guess it’s not all that impressive.
*** (+1 star) Jorge Taylor (SS)
- $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.
- The Yankees had a plan. Grab the best SS in free agency, then set Jorge firmly in a position (second base, or maybe DH?) where his fragile porcelain form would be protected from breakage. But in any case, that plan was annihilated in a shower of syringes and recrimination. So, do the Yankees put a supbar bat in the field, or risk Taylor’s health by making him SS one more time? You know… KC would probably take a call about Jose Contreras right about now…
** (New) Ivan Gomez (1B)
- $72.55 Mill through 2060.
- $14.51 Mill team option in 2061 with a $5 Mill buyout.
- My guess was, the infield of doom was supposed to be Steve Bauer at third, Guilhem Ciaravella at SS, Jorge Taylor at second, and Jon-song Xiu at first. That would leave Gomez at DH, I think. I can’t perceive any other reason to have both Xiu and Gomez on the same team.
** (New) Jin-song Xiu (1B)
- $120 Mill through 2061.
- $20 Mill player option in 2062.
- I won’t lie. I took a stab at signing him. I felt some trepidation because he wasn’t so hot at fielding first base, but I couldn’t deny that he was the second best bat in free agency after Ciaravella. But of course, the Yankees got them both because they were willing to offer the one thing I absolutely refuse to give: The years.
** (No change) Steve Bauer (3B)
- $74 Mill through 2058.
- $24 Mill team option in 2053 with a $6.5 Mill buyout.
- Another year, another solid performance by Bauer. In the tier of overpaid third basemen (which includes such notables as, Jim Chesney, Orlando Garcia and Jen-kan Hu), Bauer is by far the most valuable.
Oakland Athletics
*** (New) Cesar Perez (C)
- $47 Mill through 2057.
- $20 Mill player option in 2059.
- One fourth of the A’s salary is going to Perez. It’s a very “win now” move, which tells me that Oakland must have a lot of faith in youngster Armando Ferreira. I’m just not sure that this is the year to go all in. We’ll see soon enough.
* (New) Vincent Owens (RF)
- $22 Mill through 2057.
- Play opt out after 2057.
- $14 Mill team option in 2058 with a $3.5 Mill buyout.
- His defense is pretty stellar, and he would be valuable playing centerfield too. With an above average bat, this is a very tradable pickup for the A’s.
Seattle Mariners
There is exactly $4.5 million in guaranteed money on the Seattle books for 2057. No albatrosses here.
Tampa Bay Rays
**** (New) Katsuyuk Johnson (LF)
- $24.58 Mill through 2057.
- $10.70 Mill player option in 2058.
- I understand the draw. His ratings say that he bats 10 contact against lefty pitchers. That’s insane. But the stats say he struggles to hit above .200 even if he’s platooned against righties. I have to trust my eyes on this one. But in the deep recesses of my heart, I hope that one day he'll have a .400 season in 200 at bats.
*** (-1 star) Jim Chesney (3B)
- $63.9 Mill through 2058.
- You know, staring out into the desert landscape of third basemen has given me new appreciation for Chesney. He’s not my favorite, by any means, but he's also not a terrible guy to overpay if you have to overpay someone.
** (-1 star) John Miller (SP)
- $50.46 Mill through 2059.
- $12.94 Mill player option in 2060.
- Promised role: Starting pitcher.
- John Miller always disappoints me. He’s built like an ace, but performs like a journeyman. PLUS, I always confuse him with John “The Human Eyeball” Miller, who hasn’t pitched in a decade. I would consider it a great personal favor if TB would nickname this John Miller as "The Human Eyeball" as well. It would bring me boundless joy, the likes of which I haven’t felt since Paul Doss became Paul “Doss Mall” Doss.
Texas Rangers
** (+1 star) Oliver de Kok (CF)
- $16 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.
- Out of nowhere, a pretty unimpressive year from the normally phenomenal Oliver de Kok. You think it might be having to play next to Makalani Korra that’s freaking him out? I mean, he’s gotta see the next generation gunning for his job. It wounds a man's self-esteem!
* (-1 star) Brady Henderson (3B)
- $128 Mill through 2059.
- $32 Mill player option in 2060.
- I think Brady has the potential to be the best third baseman in the league. However, if I was ranking career performance I’d have to put him behind Steve Guindon, right this moment There’s still time for him to earn the crown, however.
* (-1 star) Edward Boer (SP)
- $37 Mill through 2058.
- $11 Mill in team option 2059 with a $3.25 Mill buyout.
- $11 Mill in team option 2060 with a $3.25 Mill buyout.
- Promised role: Starting pitcher.
- I remember Boer when I was watching him rise through the A’s farm system. He looked okay. Nothing exceptional. Then, somewhere along the line, he took a jump which has made him one of the Ranger’s most reliable guys behind ace German Santos. Gotta say, never saw it coming.
Toronto Blue Jays
For the second year in a row, the Jays have the smallest player payroll of any team in the league. Literally half the payroll of the next largest team. So yeah, not an albatross to be seen.