Worst Baseball contract in recent history?

[kab21]

I don't think that is quite on this list, but the cash strapped Twins gave 8 years, $184 million to a first-baseman that can't hit more than 15 home runs.

Mauer is one of the greatest hitters of our time. Nobody seemed to care that Wade Boggs didn't hit homers.

Yeah, I don't for sure think that Mauer is overpaid. I just think the team that paid it to him was the stupid part.

I mean, what's worse.. The dodgers taking on Carl Crawfords enormous salary and him being a complete waste, but still having the money to sign Hanley Ramirez and give kershaw the biggest deal ever.. Or, the twins paying that money to a powerless 1st baseman and being completely handicapped when it comes to trying to surround him with anything at all.

Most players that sign these types of deals go to teams with limitless pockets and so their contracts don't have nearly the same negative impact on the team they play for.

The Twins have 20-30M/yr left to spend so Mauer's contract isn't a problem. At all. Their problem is that a decade of drafting netted a few role players and almost no impact talent (or even above average talent).

[lastingsgriller]

Contracts like his just aren't for teams like the twins. They are for teams that can take more risks.

Twins management likes to say that we have money to spend, just can't find the people to spend it on. But, the reality of it is we can't afford to make mistakes. We're not like the dodgers where they can have wasted contracts like ethier and Crawford and still function. A contract like that would kill us. And, since we can't afford to make mistakes, we can't afford to take risks.. Which means, we'll never put together that type of team. So.. We're way better not paying any of those types of players and, instead, spending on an abundance of depth, which we can continually turn over for an abundance of prospects.

I like joe Mauer, he's real good, but he would have been worth a lot more to us as a moved asset than as a player.

If we'd have moved him with a couple controlled years, we could have gotten enough to make our minor league system very deep and had money to buy above average players that we could have turned into more minor league depth.

It's boring. It makes us look cheap and doesn't make fans happy. But, I think it's the only way that a team like us a long term contender. And, ultimately, I prefer being a playoff team and getting hammered by the Yankees every year that what I've watched the last 3 years.

As a postscript to all that blabber: obviously if it takes all that description to explain why it's a bad contract, it really isn't THAT bad. Also, obviously, mauer's contracts isn't the only reason why we are where we are, but I just think it's product if us abandoning the method that got us where we were.

[kab21]

The Twins don't need to be run like they are the Rays. They have money to spend and Mauer's contract hasn't prevented them from signing anyone. Under your plan the Twins would have needed to trade Mauer in 2008/2009 when they were contenders. It might have rebuilt them quicker but it definitely would have ended their yearly trips to the playoffs prematurely.

[wrveres]

I'm still going with Zito. and im a huge USC guy.

A lot of the big money ball player "failures" just lose playing time, and eventually get traded or bought out by the Mets. That limits the damage they do to the team. Everybody here understands replacement value.
Zito was below replacement value for seven years in San Fran. Outside of one miraculous run one fall, Zito was a 126 million dollar turd.
By comparison, Jason Bay didnt even see 1000 AB's for the Mets. Zito was pissing away 18 million before Bay even signed in New York, and was still pissing away 20 million while Bay was being cut by the Mets and Mariners.

After 7 Years in a pitcher friendly park, and in a pitcher friendly division, Zito was good for 3 wins above replacement.
Total.

[GiantsFan14]

And one world series ring above replacement.