Ranking the 10 worst contracts in the AL West

The American League West has one team that is a pretty consistent spender, and that's the Los Angeles Angels. Teams like the Astros, Mariners, and Rangers are trying to spend right now to win games. Two of those teams are coming off of great 2022 campaigns.

And then there's the Oakland Athletics. They're an organization without a single player signed for the 2023 campaign. They have players under team control of course, but they haven't handed out a single contract for the 2023 season according to spotrac.

Some of the contracts within this division are good ones. It's impossible to call Mike Trout's contract a bad one. Yordan Alvarez has one of the more team-friendly deals in baseball. Julio Rodriguez looks like a star and he got paid like one. With that being said, there are some horrible contracts in what looks like a solid division overall.

10) Worst contracts in the AL West: Ryan Pressly

Ryan Pressly is a very good reliever. I'm of the belief that relievers are so volatile and contracts that are long-term, especially for older ones, will age poorly.

Pressly is 33 years old and signed a two-year $30 million dollar extension before the regular season started. He's guaranteed to be under contract through 2024 and has a vesting option for another $14 million dollars if he appears in at least 50 games in 2023 and 2024.

So far, Pressly looks great. He had a great season, posting a 2.98 ERA and tallying 33 saves. His 2.31 FIP suggests he actually got a bit unlucky.

Pressly started out as a poor postseason performer but has looked much better as the Astros closer in October in the last couple of seasons.

The only reason he is on this list is his position and his age. Relievers can be great one year and horrible the next, just look at Aaron Loup and Ryan Tepera with the Angels. At his age, it's not unreasonable to expect him to regress before he turns 38 when the contract will likely expire.