For the better part of the last decade, Albert Pujols' 10-year/$254 million deal with the Los Angeles Angels was seen as the worst contract in baseball.
While the St. Louis Cardinals were initially criticized for allowing Pujols to walk after he helped them to win the 2011 World Series, he posted just a .758 OPS during parts of 10 seasons with the Angels. Mind you, Pujols had a staggering 1.037 OPS during the first 11 seasons of his career, earning him three National League MVP Awards.
Pujols did hit his 500th and 600th home runs as a member of the Angels, but made just one All-Star team during his 10-year contract, while posting just 5.3 in fWAR. In his first stint with the Cardinals, Pujols posted 81.3 fWAR.
Ultimately, the Angels released Pujols in May of 2021, the final year of his contract. Pujols stayed in Los Angeles for the rest of the season, turning in pretty solid production as a bench player for the Dodgers. He'll return to St. Louis for the 2022 season, perhaps putting a cap on one of the greatest careers in league history.
While Pujols' deal is now off the books for the Angels, there are still quite a few contracts around the sport that teams regret issuing. Ahead of the 2022 season, here -- from the perspective of the league's 30 teams -- are the 11 worst contracts in baseball:
11. Scott Kingery, Philadelphia Phillies
Scott Kingery's contract hasn't aged well.(Mitchell Leff/Getty Images)Initial Deal: Six Years/$24 Million
Amount Remaining: $15 Million
When former Phillies general manager Matt Klentak got Kingery to sign a six-year/$24 million deal with three affordable club option years before his Major League Debut, it looked like it had a chance to be one of the most team-friendly deals ever. Instead, despite a productive 2019 campaign, Kingery's career hasn't panned out how the Phillies hoped. A torn right labrum turned 2021 into a lost season for Kingery, and he appears likely to open 2022 at Triple-A Lehigh Valley. The former top prospect is due $6 million in 2022, $8 million in 2023 and the Phillies will have to pay him $1 million to buy him out of his $13 million club option for 2024.
10. David Price, Los Angeles Dodgers
David Price's contract hasn't aged well.(Matthew Stockman/Getty Images)Initial Deal: Seven Years/$217 Million
Amount Remaining: $32 Million
Price is a five-time All-Star and former American League Cy Young Award winner, but the back-half of his seven-year/$217 million deal that he initially signed with the Boston Red Sox hasn't turned out well. Price did help Boston to win the 2018 World Series, but was shipped to the Los Angeles Dodgers along with Mookie Betts ahead of the 2020 season. After opting out of the pandemic-shortened 2020 season, Price posted a 4.03 ERA and 4.23 FIP in 39 games for the Dodgers last season, 11 of which were starts. The former Tampa Bay Rays star will make $32 million in the final year of his contract, $16 of which will be paid by the Red Sox.
9. Jackie Bradley Jr., Boston Red Sox
Jackie Bradley Jr.'s contract hasn't aged well.(Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)Initial Deal: Two Years/$24 Million
Amount Remaining: $17.5 Million
Following a season with the Brewers, Bradley is back in Boston, after the Red Sox sent Hunter Renfroe to Milwaukee. Once one of the game's elite defenders in center field, Bradley will open the 2022 season in right field. The Red Sox are hoping for some sort of offensive bounce-back from the 31-year-old, who posted a meager .497 OPS in 2021. Bradley will make $9.5 million in 2022, and if his $12 million mutual option for 2023 isn't exercised, it will come with an $8 million buyout.
8. Madison Bumgarner, Arizona Diamondbacks
Madison Bumgarner's contract hasn't aged well.(Christian Petersen/Getty Images)Initial Deal: Five years/$85 Million
Amount Remaining: $60 Million
While his 2021 season wasn't as bad as 2020, Bumgarner has been a massive disappointment in his first two seasons with the Diamondbacks. The former San Francisco Giants postseason hero has a 5.07 ERA and 5.20 FIP in his first 35 starts with the Snakes.
7. Giancarlo Stanton, New York Yankees
Giancarlo Stanton's contract hasn't aged well.(David Berding/Getty Images)Initial Deal: 13 Years/$325 Million
Amount Remaining: $189 Million
It was hard to decide what to do with Stanton here, because he homered 35 times and posted an .870 OPS in 2021, arguably his best season with the Yankees yet. With that said, 2021 followed two injury-riddled seasons and Stanton is still owed $179 million over the next six seasons. The Yankees will then either have to pick up his $25 million club option for 2028 or pay a $10 million buyout. The Miami Marlins -- who Stanton last played for in 2017 -- will pay $10 million of his salary in 2026, 2027 and 2028.
6. Jason Heyward, Chicago Cubs
Jason Heyward's contract hasn't aged well.(Jamie Sabau/Getty Images)Initial Deal: Eight Years/$184 Million
Amount Remaining: $64 Million
Heyward was part of the 2016 Cubs team that snapped a 108-year World Series drought, but his eight-year/$184 million deal has never really panned out. Granted, Heyward has won two Gold Glove Awards with the Cubs, but the former Atlanta Braves top prospect has slashed an underwhelming .247/.326/.383 in six seasons in Chicago. Now 32, Heyward will make $44 million over the next two seasons, with $20 million in deferrals set to be paid out between 2024 and 2027.
5. Patrick Corbin, Washington Nationals
Patrick Corbin contract hasn't aged well.(Greg Fiume/Getty Images)Initial Deal: Six Years/$140 Million
Amount Remaining: $92 Million
The Nationals won a World Series in 2019 behind the starting pitching trio of Max Scherzer, Stephen Strasburg and Corbin, but he's struggled over the last two seasons. Corbin led baseball in losses (16) and earned runs (111) in 2021, and gave up a National League-worst 37 home runs. It was worth it for their first championship, but the Nationals are now left to pay Corbin $82 million over the final three years of his contract, with a $10 million deferral looming in 2025.
4. Eric Hosmer, San Diego Padres
Eric Hosmer's contract hasn't aged well.(Denis Poroy/Getty Images)Initial Deal: Eight Years/$144 Million
Amount Remaining: $59 Million
The idea of Hosmer -- who had extensive postseason experience with the Kansas City Royals -- coming to the Padres was intriguing. Unfortunately, it hasn't worked out to this point, as the former All-Star has been worth just 0.5 fWAR in four seasons with the Padres. There's no doubt that with half of his deal remaining, the Padres would like a mulligan on Hosmer's contract.
3. Robinson Canó, New York Mets
Robinson Cano's contract hasn't aged well.(Rob Carr/Getty Images)Initial Deal: 10 Years/$240 Million
Amount Remaining: $48 Million
Over the course of a 10-year/$240 million deal that was initially signed with the Seattle Mariners, Canó has cemented his place as one of the greatest statistical second basemen in baseball history. He's also probably tanked his Hall of Fame chances by twice being suspended for performance-enhancing drug use, including for the entirety of 2021. The Mets hope that Canó can serve as a DH for the final two years of his deal, where he's owed $48 million and has a full no-trade clause.
2. Miguel Cabrera, Detroit Tigers
Miguel Cabrera's contract hasn't aged well.(Mark Blinch/Getty Images)Initial Deal: Eight Years/$248 Million
Amount Remaining: $72 Million
Cabrera is one of the greatest players in MLB history, but the eight-year/$248 million extension that the Tigers gave Cabrera in March of 2014 -- when he was two years away from free agency -- hasn't aged well. While Cabrera homered 38 times in the first season of his new deal, he's hit just 56 home runs in the five seasons since. Cabrera is owed $64 million over the next two seasons, and his plan to retire after 2023 is a pretty clear admission that he knows the Tigers will pay him an $8 million buyout on his $30 million club option for 2024.
1. Stephen Strasburg, Washington Nationals
Stephen Strasburg's contract hasn't aged well.(Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)Initial Deal: Seven Years/$245 Million
Amount Remaining: $175 Million
Strasburg is one of the greatest players in Nationals history, but the seven-year/$245 million deal that he signed to remain with the team after winning 2019 World Series MVP seemed doomed from the start. Since pitching 245 1/3 innings between the regular season and playoffs in 2019, Strasburg has been limited to just 26 2/3 innings. As he continues to work his way back from thoracic outlet surgery, it's unclear when the three-time All-Star will return to a big league mound.
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