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Ranking the 5 worst Seattle Mariners contracts in recent history

By Christopher O'Day

ARLINGTON, TX - MAY 14: Carlos Silva of the Seattle Mariners pitches during the game against the Texas Rangers at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington in Arlington, Texas on May 14, 2008. The Mariners defeated the Rangers 4-3 in 12 innings. (Photo by John Williamson/MLB Photos via Getty Images)
ARLINGTON, TX - MAY 14: Carlos Silva of the Seattle Mariners pitches during the game against the Texas Rangers at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington in Arlington, Texas on May 14, 2008. The Mariners defeated the Rangers 4-3 in 12 innings. (Photo by John Williamson/MLB Photos via Getty Images) /
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Mariners Jeff Weaver
DETROIT, MI – MAY 10: Jeff Weaver of the Seattle Mariners pitches against the Detroit Tigers at Comerica Park in Detroit, Michigan on May 10, 2007. The Tigers defeated the Mariners 7-3. (Photo by Mark Cunningham/MLB Photos via Getty Images) /

#3: Jeff Weaver: 2007: One year/$8.325 million

Like the top player on the list, it doesn’t really make sense as to why the Mariners spent the amount of money they did to get Jeff Weaver on the team. He had up-and-down seasons over the prior four to signing with the Mariners, with ERAs of 5.99, 4.01, 4.22, and 5.76. The most recent season before signing with the Mariners wasn’t just bad, it was awful.

  • 172 IP, 5.76 ERA, 5.47 FIP, 1.512 WHIP, 1.8 HR/9, 11.1 H/9, 2.5 BB/9, .303/.354/.523

I see nothing there that is deserving of an $8.325 contract, even though it was just for one season. However, if you think “hey, maybe he would do a bit better with the Mariners, he did have some good seasons recently and still could eat innings” well, you would be sorely mistaken.

  • 146.2 IP, 6.20 ERA, 5.07 FIP, 1.534 WHIP, 1.4 HR/9, 11.7 H/9, 2.1 BB/9, .315/.357/.519

Also, it’s even crazier when you realize that Weaver threw two complete-game shutouts that season. The first came in the 9th start of the season for Weaver, and dropped his ERA from 10.97 to 8.56. The second came in the middle of August, a 6-0 win against the White Sox. That means that outside of those two games, his season ERA was actually 7.06 on the season!

You know what, let’s go even further. There were two other starts on the season where he went eight innings and gave up one run. To me, there were two Weavers we got on the season. The good one showed up for four starts with a 0.53 ERA in 34 innings, and the one who threw 23 starts with a 7.91 ERA. That’s awful. It’s essentially going 5.2 innings every start and giving up five runs.

His WAR was only -0.5 on the season, but that’s because he had the two complete-game shutout wins. If not for those, he would be higher up on the list. For now, he earns the #3 spot for worst contracts in Mariners history.

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