What If Baseball Could Also Amnesty One Player?

KSJ friend Justin retweeted the other day a question from a local Philly radio station that was actually interesting to thing about? The question asked if the Phillies could amnesty one contract, who would it be?

With the help of Cot's Baseball Contracts I took a look at every team in baseball and tried to guess if each team could amnesty a player who would it be? My only ground rule is that a player can't have only one year left on their contract because that's cheating.

Arizona (Willie Bloomquist, 2 years, $3.8M)- Arizona has done a great job at keeping Justin Upton and Chris Young for the long term, while the rest of their players have two to one year deals. Bloomquist's deal is the worst out of bunch even though he's really not making a ton of money for the next two years.

Atlanta (Dan Uggla, 5years/$62M)- Another team that has smartly signed contracts that won't cripple their payroll. I had to choose Uggla because he's signed through 2015 and is already 32 years old. He'll be 35 when this contract ends making $13 million.

Baltimore (Brian Roberts, 4years/$40M)- This selection is unfair to Roberts because he's been out with a concussion, but the Orioles are another team that doesn't have any ridiculous contracts on their books right now.

Boston (Carl Crawford, 7years/$142M)- Everyone said this was a dumb contract before the ink dried. 7 years and 142 million for an aging outfielder who relies on speed. To make matters worse, Crawford hasn't even played yet this year. Horrendous contract.


Chicago Cubs (Alfonso Soriano, 8years/$136M)- There's still 2 1/2 years left on this deal and Soriano is already 36 years old.

Chicago White Sox (Adam Dunn, 4years/$56M)- Yes Adam Dunn is playing much better this year than last year, but the White Sox still have to pay Dunn $30 million the next two seasons after this year. Amazing fact looking up these contracts, Adam Dunn is only 32. Doesn't he feel much older than that?

Cincinnati (Joey Votto, 10years/$263M)- This was a hard deciding between Votto's contract or Brandon Phillips contract and it came down to this. The Reds will be paying Votto $25 million when he's 37 years old.
 
Cleveland (Carlos Santana, 5years/$21M)- I had to choose Santana because they either have contracts coming off the books (Hafner) have guys signed to one year deals (Ubaldo Jimenez) or still have guys with arbitration years (Choo).
 
Colorado (Carlos Gonzalez, 7years/$80M)- I choose Gonzalez over Tulowitzki because of Gonzalez's home/away splits. $20 million for someone who is greatly affected by the Coors effect should be amnesty'd over Tulowitzki.

Detroit (Prince Fielder, 9years/$214M)- $24 million for a 36 year old plump first baseman isn't a contract you want on the books.

Houston (Brett Myers, 2years/$23M)- The Astros have finally stopped making it rain with dumb contracts so Myers has to be the choice here even though the Astros will probably trade him after this year.

Kansas City (Alex Gordon, 4years/$37.5M)- Gordon is the choice here because so far it looks like his 2011 season was a complete fluke. Chris Getz has a higher OPS at the moment. That's bad folks.

Los Angeles Angels (Vernon Wells, 3years/$63M)- Why Wells over Albert Pujols? Because Pujols is starting to look like Pujols again (He's hit 4HRs in 9 games) while Vernon Wells will be paid $63 million over the next two and a half years while putting up a 244/282/422 slash line.
 
Los Angeles Dodgers (Juan Uribe, 2years/$16M)- I hate that McCourt went broke because now the Dodgers don't have a lot of contracts on the books that are bad. The worse though right now is Juan Uribe's deal.
 
Miami (Heath Bell, 3years/$27M)- Another guy who is beginning to play better, but still this was a bad deal. 3-years and $27 million for a 34-year old closer is just a dumb contract for any player not named Mariano Rivera.

Milwaukee (Rickie Weeks, 4years/$38.5M)- The way Weeks has been playing this year, I doubt any team would like to pay him $10 million this year and next and $11 million for 2014.

Minnesota (Joe Mauer, 8years/$184M)- Remember when people were debating this contract? Everyone said it was a bad deal but Minnesota had to do it because Mauer was a local kid and a talent that Minnesota can't afford in free agency? Now I realize people didn't expect Mauer to be this bad, but if the Twins did it all over again I bet they wouldn't re-sign Mauer.

New York Mets (Jason Bay, 4years/$66M)- Doesn't this contract feel a lot longer than it is? I'm sure Mets fans feel like this deal is a 20-year contract.

New York Yankees (Mark Teixeira, 5years/$112.5M)- A-Rod's contract is bad for sure, but A-Rod will still put up decent numbers. Teixeira's numbers have steadily declined the past four years and the Yankees still have to pay him $112 million.
 

Oakland (Coco Crisp, 2years/$14M)- I know the A's weren't in the Cespedes running when they brought back Crisp, but $14 million for an oft-injured centerfielder who doesn't hit for power and who's speed is going to decline with age?
 
Philadephia (Ryan Howard, 5years/$125M)- The contract that brought this whole discussion up. This was another contract that people said wasn't smart before the ink dried. Amazing fact looking up these contracts is that Ryan Howard is already 32 years old. He's the same age as Adam Dunn. Doesn't that feel weird? Hasn't it felt like Dunn has been in the league much longer than Howard? Why is this so perplexing to me????

Pittsburgh (AJ Burnett, 2years/$33M)- Let's just move on here.
 
San Diego (Cameron Maybin, 5years/$25M)- The Padres are always going to have to try and re-sign guys like Maybin. But paying 25 million for an underachieving centerfielder isn't a good deal.
 
San Francisco (Barry Zito, 2years/$39M)- In a couple of years it will be the Matt Cain contract on this list. For now though the Zito contract is still the biggest albatross on the Giants roster even if Zito has been playing better lately.
 

Seattle (Chone Figgins, 2years/$17M)- The Mariners have to pay Figgins $17 million the next two seasons to not start or get on base.
 
St. Louis (Matt Holliday, 4years/$68M)- The Cards might have dodged a huge bullet concerning Pujols, but they still have to play $68 million for an outfielder who is already 32-years old.

Tampa (None)- The Rays don't have one contract on their books that is regrettable. And people wonder why this team competes every year in the tough AL East.

Texas (Ian Kinsler, 5years/$70M)- Kinsler signed an extension that starts next season. If the Rangers re-sign Hamilton after this season then that might be the contract they'll regret, but for right now it's the Kinsler deal.

Toronto (Jose Bautista, 4years/$56M)- Another team that has framed a roster around cheap talented players instead of over-paying for aging veterans. Bautista is only on this list because of his age (31).
 
Washington (Jayson Werth, 6years/$112M)- Another contract that was dumb before the ink dried. Thankfully for the Nationals sake Werth's contract is the only bad one they have unless you count the Ryan Zimmerman contract and the fact he hasn't been able to stay healthy recently.