When the New York Yankees signed Jacoby Ellsbury to a seven-year, $153 million deal before the 2014 season many in the baseball world were puzzled. After Justin Upton signed with the Detroit Tigers for $132.75 million over six years this offseason, it was a stark reminder how bad Ellsbury’s contract is.
The first warning sign was that Ellsbury, a Scott Boras client, was willing to sign so early. Ellsbury signed on December 7, 2013, which was before the Winter Meetings. He might have set a record for a Boras client signing early. Boras knew something the Yankees didn’t, that no other team was going to come close to offering Ellsbury, who was 30 at the time, a contract like that. If there was any serious interest then Boras would have used the Winter Meetings to drum up the price, but the Yankees had already come in with a huge offer.
Ellsbury was coming off of a season that saw him slash .298/.355/.426 with nine home runs, 31 doubles, eight triples, 53 RBIs, 92 runs scored and a league-leading 52 stolen bases in 134 games. It was the third time Ellsbury had led the league in steals. While he had a track record for stealing bases, he also had one for getting hurt. He has appeared in over 150 games just twice including his two years with the Yankees. The last time he appeared in 150 or more games was 2011 which was an outlier season when he slashed .321/.376/.552 with 32 homers, 105 RBIs, 212 hits, 39 steals, 46 doubles, five triples and 119 runs scored. He hasn’t come close to those numbers since or before.
Upton entered free agency after turning 28 last August, two years younger than Ellsbury. He was also coming off a season that saw him post .251/.336/.454 with 26 home runs, 81 RBIs, 85 runs, 26 doubles and 19 steals. It was the third straight year he hit 20 or more home runs and the fifth time in his career he had done that. He is a career .271/.352/.473 hitter. While he does strike out more than Ellsbury, he also stays healthier. Despite having more power and a similar career slash line, Upton got one less year and $21.25 million less than Ellsbury.
Had Ellsbury given the Yankees two prime years in his first two seasons with the team we might not be talking about how bad his contract has been. The reality is, it was a bad contract then and it has only gotten worse. Ellsbury is now entering his age-32 season and is coming off of one of his worst years as a pro. He might not be as bad as he was last year, but he is injury prone and is starting to enter his fall-off years. He may have one or two years of prime left, if he stays healthy.
The Upton deal is just salt in the wound for the Yankees. Obviously they can’t count on certain players reaching free agency, and counting on Upton or anyone hitting the open market could leave the Yankees high and dry. The Yankees needed some star power with Derek Jeter retiring and Robinson Cano signing an astronomical contract with the Seattle Mariners. Ellsbury was one of the more intriguing free agents that year. The Yankees’ mistake was jumping so quickly with a contract offer that was not close to what other teams were offering.
There is nothing that can be done now. The Ellsbury contract runs through 2020, and he isn’t going anywhere until then. It just leaves a bad taste in the mouth of fans to see that contract on the team while players like Upton are signing for less at younger ages and all the while Hal Steinbrenner is complaining about payroll. It was a bad deal, it’s a bad deal now and it will be even worse in two years. Welcome to the new New York Yankees.
