Ranking the worst contracts in the American League West: A couple Mariners problems

1 of 5

While the American League West has been dominated by the Houston Astros in recent years (except a weird 2020 season where the A's won the crown), it has become one of the better divisions in baseball. With that, there comes a lot of fairly large spenders, even the often cheap Oakland Athletics, and one of the most frustrating ownership groups in baseball in Seattle.

The AL West still possesses three large spenders as the Astros have the third highest payroll, the Rangers are eighth, and the Angels are 14th. The Mariners sit just behind them at 16 and the A's are all the way at the bottom with the lowest payroll in the game ... and it's not particularly close. Even with the Dodgers tossing out a $700 million deal to Shohei Ohtani, the National League East is the only division that can compare in terms of divisional payroll.

But that doesn't mean some massive mistakes weren't made along the way. The AL west has some of the most questionable contracts out there.

Ranking the 5 worst contracts in the AL West: Where do the Mariners land?

With those hefty payrolls, there are bound to be some misses, some more so than others. Each team has a few large contracts (except for Oakland, whose highest-paid player is Seth Brown at $2.6 million). Some have panned out, but others are a complete bust.

Seattle Mariners: Mitch Garver and Mitch Haniger

While the Mariners might not be the cheapest team in the American League West (sorry Oakland), they are far and away the next in line. The Mariners regularly shop on the clearance rack, but this offseason saw them hand out the largest free agent contract to a hitter under Jerry Dipoto ... and it isn't looking good.

The Mariners brought in World Series champion Mitch Garver, who played a key role in the Rangers securing their first championship in franchise history. Garver seemed to fit this Mariners team perfectly. Though he dealt with injuries and played in only 87 games, he still hit .270/.370/.500 with 19 home runs and very solid walk and strikeout rates. This led the Mariners to give the catcher a two-year deal, with $12.5 million each in 2024 and 2025 and an option for 2026 that has a $1 million buyout.

Fast forward to the 2024 season and this looks terrible. The 33-year-old seemingly forgot how to hit, and the Mariners have moved him from full-time DH to backup catcher in hopes of extracting at least a little bit of value. He put a negative fWAR and continuously hurt this team. His 31.3% strikeout rate is a career high and is very fitting that this happens as he joins a Mariners team with strikeout issues. There is a chance he bounces back next year, but if he doesn't the Mariners won't pick up that option, triggering the buyout, and paying him a $13.5 million salary in 2025, in what will likely be the worst signing in Dipoto's Mariner tenure (though the options are mighty slim).

The second Mitch that Seattle brought in is former fan favorite Mitch Haniger, who left the previous off season. The Mariners didn't want to pay Haniger what he wanted, and he ended up signing with the San Francisco Giants. After the Giants realized how bad of a decision this was, they flipped him back to the Mariners while taking on Robbie Ray and his contract. Haniger was paid $15.5 million in 2024 to put up an 85 wRC+ along side a .209/.285/.338 slash line with just 12 home runs. He registered a negative fWAR and logged terrible defense.

Unfortunately for the Mariners, Haniger has a player option for 2025 at $15.5 million that he will pick up. Seattle will likely eat the money and release him as Haniger's glory days are long gone. Either way, this is a terrible contract for a team that is constantly juggling payroll.

Houston Astros: Lance McCullers Jr.

The Houston Astros have been excellent at turning prospects into regular major leaguers. They have had a number of guys leave in free agency after developing into solid, even elite players, though they have been able to maintain their core group. One of the guys they hoped to be a part of that core group was right-handed starter Lance McCullers Jr.

The soon-to-be 31-year-old looked like he was going to be one of the Astros important contributors on the bump, along with guys like Framber Valdez, Christian Javier and Jose Urquidy. After a few solid years, the Astros decided to give McCullers Jr. a five-year extension worth a total of $85 million. It seemed like it was going to be a steal as McCullers Jr. would go on to truly break out in 2021, throwing 162.1 innings with a 3.16 ERA and a 10.26 K/9. He looked like the workhorse that could anchor a staff for years.

After that, however, McCullers would throw just 47.2 innings in 2022 before undergoing surgery for a right flexor strain in June of 2023. He then tried to rehab this summer, but was shut down. Not long after Astros manager Joe Espada revealed McCullers would miss the remainder of the 2024 season.

What once looked like it could be a steal for the Astros has turned into a nightmare, but not by performance. Unfortunately, injuries have taken their toll on McCullers and he has yet to pitch in back-to-back seasons, all while the Astros have paid him over $30 million during that time. Houston is still on the hook for another $35 million over the next two years. While McCullers Jr. could come back, injuries have made this extension one of the worst in the division.

LA Angels: Mike Trout

At the time of this historic $426.5 million deal in March of 2019, it seemed like a no-brainer. In the previous seven years, Trout was a two-time MVP, placed second in the voting an additional four times, and had another top-five finish. He was often referred to as a "once in a generation" type of player, and it was true. Then it seemed like another gear was unlocked as Trout put together one of his best seasons, slugging 45 home runs and winning yet another MVP award. Trout was just 27 years old and was on his way to becoming one of the greatest players we have ever seen, even earning comparisons to Mickey Mantle.

In the next four years after signing that contract (excluding 2020), Trout has played in just 266 of 648 possible games (41%). A majority of this came in 2022 when he played in 119 games, was an All-Star, slugged 40 home runs and got some MVP votes. Injuries have continued to derail any ability he has to make it through a majority of the season and Trout has yet to make the transition to a corner outfield spot. Though he seems more open to it, with the possibility of getting more DH days, he is still due $222.7 million over another six years. This contract runs through his age-38 season and injuries don't usually get better with age.

Mike Trout will go down as one of the most dominant players in the sport's history, and the Angels were smart to give him this contract. Unfortunately for Trout, his health has made it a tough one to swallow for Los Angeles.

Texas Rangers: Jacob deGrom

Where Mike Trout may be the best position player of this generation only to have injuries cut his resume short, Jacob deGrom is the pitching version of him. deGrom was one of the most dominant pitchers on one of the biggest stages in baseball, playing for the New York Mets. He won back-to-back Cy Young awards, with three straight seasons of 200+ innings pitched. He regularly had an ERA in the low 2.00s and topped the 200-strikeout mark in four of his first six years.

After the COVID-shortened 2020 season, things really started to unravel for the former Stetson Hatter. It looked like deGrom was on pace for one of his best seasons yet in 2021, but he dealt with right side tightness and after a short IL stint. After an attempt to make it back with the Mets, he ended up out for the year with forearm tightness, throwing just 92 innings. This lingered into his 2022 season where he didn't debut until August, showcasing for his upcoming free agency. He threw just 64 1/3 innings but looked like his normal self.

After all of that, the Rangers gave the righty a five-year deal worth a whopping $185 million. In the first two years of that deal, granted the Rangers won a World Series that deGrom was not a part of, deGrom has thrown just 41 innings and has made $$70 million. Hopefully we see deGrom get healthy, but the Rangers might be regretting the fact that they're still on the hook for another $115 million over the next three years.

Bonus LA Angels: Anthony Rendon

Far and away the worst contract in this division (and possibly in the game of baseball) is the one that Los Angeles handed out to Anthony Rendon in the 2019-2020 offseason.

The Angels gave him a seven-year deal worth $245 million ($35 AAV). It was a confusing move for a team coming off of just a 72-win season, finishing fourth in the division. The pitching staff was terrible, but the Angels opted to bring in Rendon to partner with Trout and Ohtani.

The first year after signing his massive deal, Rendon looked like himself, slashing .286/.418/.497 while trailing only Trout in extra-base hits. After that season is when everything fell apart. Since the 2020 season, Rendon has yet to eclipse 60 games played, and even when he's been able to play he hasn't been particularly good. From 2021-2024, Rendon has played in just 205 of the 648 games (31%). In those 205 games, he has slashed .231/.329/.336 with just 13 home runs and an 89 wRC+.

The Angels are one of the most confusing franchises and have made some very questionable decisions. They have a long line of contracts that have failed. Guys like Josh Hamilton, CJ Wilson, Zack Cozart, and even the legendary Albert Pujols have proven to be massive sunk costs and disappointments. It's looking like Anthony Rendon is putting himself squarely in that conversation. In fact, he might be the worst of them all.

manual

Home / Seattle Mariners History