Ranking the 3 worst contracts in the AL Central Division
The American League is loaded with great teams that believe that they can win the World Series. It is a very good league that has a rich history of being awesome. Teams like the New York Yankees, Boston Red Sox, and Houston Astros have been the beacons of recent success.
Unfortunately, the White Sox are not one of those teams even though they should be. They play in the second-biggest market of any team in the AL. They have the chance to be one of the prominent teams but choose not to.
One of the stains in the AL right now is the AL Central which is the division that the White Sox resides in. It is the worst division in all of Major League Baseball and it isn't really close. The White Sox are part of the problem.
Part of the reason that this division isn't good is bad player decisions made by the front offices. That includes bad contracts given out to players that don't deserve them. These are the three worst contracts in the AL Central Division right now:
1. Yoan Moncada
There is nothing pretty about Yoan Moncada's contract right now.
Yes, a player on the Chicago White Sox has the worst contract in the division. He is a true bust in this game and hasn't even slightly lived up to his potential. He makes a lot of money as he got 17.8 million in 2023 and will get 24.8 million in 2024.
It is hard to find a team that gets less for more money than the White Sox with Moncada. This is truly a terrible contract and it is one of the risks of signing promising young players too early. It would be a bargain if Moncada reached his potential but he has been terrible and injured.
If the White Sox wanted to move on from Moncada right now, it would be an expensive tie cut. At this point, they should just keep him for next year and see what happens. Maybe he'll be good enough to trade but don't count on it.
2. Javier Baez
Javier Baez became one of the worst contracts in the league in Detroit.
Javier Baez was one of the most exciting players in the world when he was a member of the Chicago Cubs. Outside of one year, however, he was never really a "best player on a team" type of guy.
The Cubs realized that and sent him away in a trade for Pete Crow-Armstrong who is now their number one prospect. The New York Mets don't like being reminded of that one as it was one of the worst trades of the decade so far.
After missing the playoffs entirely in New York, Baez signed a long term contract with the Detroit Tigers and it is now one of the worst in the league.
Baez will be getting $25 million in 2024, $25 million in 2025, $24 million in 2026, and $24 million in 2027. For the type of player that he is at this point, that is definitely an albatross contract.
He still comes up with a defensive highlight every now and again but his slash line of .218/.263/.313 for an OPS of .576 is absolutely terrible. He only has 8 home runs to go with 54 RBIs and 53 runs scored. Those are bad player numbers and he is paid like a superstar.
3. Byron Buxton
The Twins aren't getting good value from the Byron Buxton contract.
The Minnesota Twins are looking for big numbers from Byron Buxton. He is making $15.14 million through 2028 which is a long time to be paying a player like this.
Everybody knows that Buxton has MVP potential if he is healthy but he is never healthy. It has gotten to the point that his numbers aren't even really Buxton-like anymore regardless of his playing status.
His numbers are all declining a bit as his OPS is only .731. That is not a horrible OPS but it isn't in the 8's or 9's like we've come to know from him. He has hit 17 home runs in 85 games this season which isn't a bad number but he has hit more in his career in fewer games.
In his 9 year MLB career, Buxton has only eclipsed 100 games played once and he won't break that this year. It is a shame because he could have been Hall of Fame good if he stayed healthy for most of his career.
He certainly isn't going to get healthier or better at baseball as he will enter his age-30 season in 2024. This contract is horrible now because of it which is really sad. He is a great player but injuries have just kept us wanting more as baseball fans.
Next. The 15 worst contracts in Chicago White Sox history. dark