Ranking Top 15 Worst Free Agent Signings of 2014-15 MLB Offseason
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Every year a club overpays for a player who will under-perform. It is inevitable, but the free agent market for MLB is dynamic and any player with a reliable past or perceived future potential as an impact player can make good money. Many factors weigh in, but not all millionaires will earn their keep. Here are 15 of the most undesirable signings so far this offseason.
15. 3B Pablo Sandoval - Boston Red Sox
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15. 3B Pablo Sandoval - Boston Red Sox
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Kung Fu Panda is as valuable a bat to have in a lineup as any during the postseason, but Boston has to get there first. Sandoval has been steady in the regular season, but he has not put together an All-Star worthy campaign since 2012. Even still, he has hit 20-plus HRs only twice in his career and has never eclipsed 100 RBIs. He signed for five years and $ 95 million.
14. C Russell Martin - Toronto Blue Jays
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14. C Russell Martin - Toronto Blue Jays
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Martin is not a bad signing, but the Jays may have overpaid slightly at $ 82 million over five years, despite there being a very competitive market for him. Something tells me his Canadian heritage factored into the excitement of inking him. The Jays have a bunch of young pitching prospects who need guidance, and Martin can certainly offer that. He will have more good days than bad ones for Toronto in 2015.
13. OF Nelson Cruz - Seattle Mariners
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13. OF Nelson Cruz - Seattle Mariners
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The M's were being tight with their budget and prospects, and as a result they had to settle on Cruz. The club chose not to sign him last offseason before he went off in 2014 with the Orioles. Because he did, they now had to overpay for a career .268 hitter and known PED user. Welcome to Safeco Field, Cruz. Robinson Cano can tell you all about how it will affect your power numbers.
12. LF Hanley Ramirez - Boston Red Sox
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12. LF Hanley Ramirez - Boston Red Sox
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Another heavy signing by Boston's brass, the talented and streaky Ramirez has trouble staying healthy. He has recorded 500-plus ABs in only two of his last five seasons. Playing the outfield is completely foreign to him as well, but thankfully left field at Fenway is not really a true outfield position due to the Green Monster. In nine MLB seasons, Ramirez has once hit over 30 HRs or driven in 100 runs. He'll make $ 19.75 M in 2015.
11. 3B Chase Headley - New York Yankees
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11. 3B Chase Headley - New York Yankees
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The absolute worst of the worst, you would think a GM with the last name Cashman would be more frugal with his spending. Then again, maybe not. Was Headley signed for an average of $ 13 M per year to be a roadblock from A-Rod starting at third base, or because the club truly sees large potential in a career .265 hitter who has only once surpassed 15 HRs in a season? After his move to the AL East last year, he posted only a .768 OPS in 191 ABs.
10. SP Brandon McCarthy - Los Angeles Dodgers
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10. SP Brandon McCarthy - Los Angeles Dodgers
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McCarthy had a resurgent and mostly awesome end to the 2014 season after a move to the Yankees, but does that justify giving a pitcher with an extensive injury history $ 48 million over four seasons? Pitchers are always a bigger risk to invest in than hitters, and McCarthy has thrown over 175 innings only once in his career. That output came last year. He will turn 32 in July.
9. SP Francisco Liriano - Pittsburgh Pirates
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9. SP Francisco Liriano - Pittsburgh Pirates
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The Bucs seem to be really good at composing adequate rotations of late, but never a dominant one. In effect, re-signing Liriano and replacing Edinson Volquez by bringing back A.J. Burnett on a one-year deal looks to have them on that same path again in 2015. Liriano has control issues, but he's logged over 150 innings and recorded a 3.90 ERA over his last three seasons. Not bad, not great -- but adequate.
8. SP Brett Anderson - Los Angeles Dodgers
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8. SP Brett Anderson - Los Angeles Dodgers
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A former second-round pick with great potential, Anderson has been bitten plenty by the injury bug. He's only signed for one season at $ 10 million and could very well end up being a huge steal if he can stay healthy. However, Brandon Morrow could also be a huge steal for the Padres at $ 2.5 million, also in the NL West. The Padres were much smarter with their money in that regard, because Morrow has 36 wins since '09 -- Anderson has 27.
7. LHP Andrew Miller - New York Yankees
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7. LHP Andrew Miller - New York Yankees
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It's as though the Evil Empire knows they will not have an overly productive lineup in 2015, so they are trying to follow the 2014 Royals' lead by assembling a nasty bullpen. Dellin Betances was utterly outstanding in 2014 as a 26-year-old rookie. If he does not close Miller will, though neither have extensive experience doing so. If Miller struggles, his $ 9 million per year will start to look bad really quickly in pinstripes.
6. SP Jake Peavy - San Francisco Giants
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6. SP Jake Peavy - San Francisco Giants
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The defending champs missed out on Jon Lester, so Peavy became the corrective measure in essence. He turns 34 in May, and though he pitched well in his return to an NL West ball club for the first time since 2009 in the regular season, the 2014 postseason was another story. A true competitor, he's set to make $ 24 million over the next two years and could end up grinding out a majority of quality innings for the Giants.
5. RF Nick Markakis - Atlanta Braves
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5. RF Nick Markakis - Atlanta Braves
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Markakis does not do anything great, but he does a number of things well. Announcing a neck surgery procedure after signing a four year, $ 44 million deal does not exactly inspire confidence. But if Peyton Manning bounced back from a similar operation in a contact heavy sport, Markakis should be fine. A move away from the AL East and Oriole Park at Camden Yards will probably hurt his numbers.
4. OF Michael Cuddyer - New York Mets
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4. OF Michael Cuddyer - New York Mets
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Not playing home games at Coors Field from 2001-11 made Cuddyer a career .272 hitter. Welcome to Denver, where his average over three seasons blossomed to .307. His OPS also inflated with the help of protection from Troy Tulowitzki and Carlos Gonzalez in the lineup. Cuddyer won't get that in New York. What he will get is $ 21 million over two years, a 36th birthday and the third-least hitter friendly park in MLB.
3. SP Edinson Volquez - Kansas City Royals
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3. SP Edinson Volquez - Kansas City Royals
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Volquez is not James Shields. He's no lock for 200 IP, does not have a sub 4.00 career ERA and has further regression written all over him in a move to a division that has hitters like Miguel Cabrera, Jose Abreu and Michael Brantley in it. Still, the 2014 ALCS winners thought two years and $ 20 million plus a 2017 option to be a wise investment. With talented youngsters Yordano Ventura and Danny Duffy, the rotation does provide promise.
2. OF Yasmany Tomas - Arizona Diamondbacks
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2. OF Yasmany Tomas - Arizona Diamondbacks
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Someone was going to take a flier on Tomas due to the successes of fellow Cuban defectors like Jose Abreu and Yasiel Puig. He appears to be a liability with the glove so DH is not even an option. Outside of Paul Goldschmidt, he does not project to have a lot of support with a club that struggles to score runs. One of these Cuban FAs will be a bust, and I think Tomas will be that guy. Rusney Castillo was a much better signing by the Red Sox.
1. 1B/DH Billy Butler - Oakland Athletics
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1. 1B/DH Billy Butler - Oakland Athletics
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The spacious O.co Coliseum is a great place for gap hitters. However, Country Breakfast will turn few doubles into triples, as he has only four of those in his career. GM Billy Beane signed Butler for $ 30 million and three years, then proceeded to trade away 54 combined 2014 HRs from Josh Donaldson and Brandon Moss. All this after he dealt Yoenis Cespedes for a three-month rental from Boston in-season. Butler hit only 9 HRs in '14 and 15 in '13.
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