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.

9) Worst contracts in the AL West: Eugenio Suarez

If I made this list before the season started, Eugenio Suarez would be higher up. He was coming off of two abysmal seasons with the Reds before being traded to Seattle in a salary dump. Suarez was thought of as a negative asset by Cincinnati.

After the trade, Suarez showed flashes of the player he was in 2019 when he hit 49 home runs. He wasn't quite that good, but he was much better than he had been since that MVP-caliber season.

Suarez slashed .236/.332/.459 with 31 home runs and 79 RBI. His 129 OPS+ was very solid for Seattle. The problem with Suarez is and always has been the strikeouts. He struck out 196 times which led the American League.

Suarez's contract pays him $22 million dollars for the next two seasons with a $15 million dollar club option in 2025.

The home runs will always be there. Even with his awful 2021 campaign he did hit 31 home runs. The issue is if he will get on base enough. Last season he hit .198 with a .286 OBP. This season he hit .236 with a .332 OBP. That's respectable at least.

Suarez is not a good defender as he ranked in the 39th percentile in outs above average according to baseball savant. In 2021 he was in the 2nd percentile. His bat has to be there for him to be a productive player.

The 31 year old isn't on the worst contract ever, I just don't fully trust him to get on base enough to make him an above average hitter like he was this past season. Maybe he can prove me wrong.

8) Worst contracts in the AL West: David Fletcher

David Fletcher's contract isn't so horrible but isn't looking like the steal it once did after the season he just had.

Just before Opening Day in 2021, Fletcher inked a five-year extension with the Angels for $26 million dollars with two club options to follow that could bring the total value of the deal to $41 million dollars.

Fletcher was coming off of a very good 2020 campaign where he had a 120 OPS+. In 2019, the last full season before signing the extension, he hit almost .300 in 154 games with a .734 OPS and a respectable 95 OPS+. The Angels can live with him being a slightly below-average hitter because of his elite defense.

The problem is, since signing the extension Fletcher hasn't been close to league average. Last season he had a .622 OPS and a 70 OPS+. He hit just two home runs and drew only 31 walks in 626 at-bats.

His struggles at the plate carried into this past season where he had a .621 OPS and a 77 OPS+. He also played in only 61 games as he missed substantial time with injury.

Fletcher has remained an elite glove and has value, but to make him startable every day he has to produce numbers that are closer to league average.

We know who Fletcher is. He won't hit home runs but should be able to hit enough singles to stay on the field every day because of his defense. It's good that he doesn't strike out, but a 77 OPS+ is unacceptable for a guy who should be playing every day.

Fletcher has competition now in the middle infield thanks to the breakout of Luis Rengifo and the strong debut of Livan Soto. Fletcher will have to produce to keep a starting job. Three years at $18.5 million dollars isn't horrible, he just has to stay on the field and be the player he was in 2019 and 2020 to make it worth it.

6) Worst contracts in the AL West: J.P. Crawford

J.P. Crawford signed a five-year $51 million dollar extension to stay in Seattle prior to the 2022 campaign. That deal bought out the rest of his arbitration including two free agency years.

At the time, I thought this was a decent deal for both sides. After Crawford's 2022, I believe it's more favorable to the player than the organization.

The 27-year-old slashed .243/.339/.336 with six home runs and 42 RBI. His OPS was 40 points lower than it was in 2021 and stood at a below-average .675.

Like Fletcher, Crawford lacks power. He set his career high in longballs last season with nine. For him to be productive offensively, he'd have to get on base a lot. Crawford did draw 68 walks which is a solid number, but he only hit .243. His .339 OBP wasn't awful but isn't great either.

Crawford's 100 OPS+ was exactly league average and it's thanks in large part to his walks. Because Crawford didn't hit much, he hit in the bottom of the order so he only scored 57 runs.

Crawford could make up for his lackluster offensive year with good defense at a premium position but he regressed very hard. In 2020, Crawford was in the 98th percentile in outs above average according to baseball savant. That number dropped to the 56th percentile in 2021. This past season, he ranked in the 1st percentile. He had a -3 DRS at shortstop.

The Mariners really didn't get much from Crawford this season and they have him locked up for another four seasons guaranteed. With top prospect Noelvi Marte traded, the Mariners will have to hope Crawford improves in the field and at the plate in the future. At his age, he should be entering his prime.

5) Worst contracts in the AL West: Max Stassi

Max Stassi was one of the more underrated catchers in baseball in 2020 and 2021. He had a 138 OPS+ in 2020 and a 103 OPS+ in 2021 while posting really solid framing numbers behind the plate as well. He was a guy the pitchers loved throwing to and became a leader in the Angels clubhouse.

Because of all of that, the Angels gave him an extension at the end of this season despite his lackluster performance in 2022. The extension was for three years and $17.5 million dollars. The contract includes a club option in 2025 worth $7.5 million dollars.

Stassi slashed .180/.267/.303 with nine home runs and 30 RBI in a career-high 102 games. His 62 OPS+ was abysmal and he was one of the worst hitters in baseball.

To make matters worse, Stassi was in the 42nd percentile in framing this season. He wasn't great in the field and was very bad at the plate.

Stassi's AAV isn't bad, I just have my doubts he will even be on the Angels for all of next year let alone the year after. If the Angels have any desire to compete, they can't play Stassi and his -0.6 bWAR as the primary catcher.

With top prospect Logan O'Hoppe potentially on the Opening Day roster, Stassi's playing time will likely be diminished right after signing the extension.

4) Worst contracts in the AL West: Robbie Ray

Following a season where they were eliminated from postseason contention on the final day of the regular season, the Mariners decided to make some huge moves. One of them was the trade that netted them Jesse Winker and Eugenio Suarez. The other was the signing of reigning AL Cy Young Award winner Robbie Ray.

The Blue Jays turned Ray from an average to below-average starter into a guy who won a Cy Young. Ray turned that Cy Young into a lucrative five-year $115 million dollar deal.

I figured regression was coming for Ray but didn't think it'd come as quickly or as hard as it did in 2022.

Ray went 12-12 with a 3.71 ERA in 32 starts. His 4.17 FIP suggests he might've even gotten a bit lucky with his ERA.

Ray was signed to be the ace of the Mariners staff but didn't really pitch like an ace. Before the trade deadline, Logan Gilbert was the Mariners' best starter, after the deadline Luis Castillo was the unquestioned ace.

An argument could be made that Ray is the fourth-best starter on the Mariners staff, behind Castillo, Gilbert, and rookie George Kirby.

In the postseason, Ray allowed four runs in just three innings and was bailed out by his bullpen in Game 2 of the Wild Card round. In his next appearance, he threw just two pitches and gave up a walk-off home run to Yordan Alvarez in relief. Ray didn't make another start in the postseason.

Ray came up small for the Mariners when they needed him most, after a pretty underwhelming regular season.

Ray is scheduled to make $21 million dollars in 2023, $23 million dollars in 2024, and $25 million dollars in 2025 and 2026.

The 31-year-old might already be on the decline with four more years guaranteed on his contract. The Mariners are a great and very fun team to watch, but this Ray contract will not age well and might hold them back from winning it all.

3) Worst contracts in the AL West: Marcus Semien

Marcus Semien had one of the best seasons a second baseman has ever had, if not the best season. His 45 home runs broke a record for second basemen in a season. He played in all 162 games, stole 15 bases, drove in 102 runs, had a 131 OPS+, and won a Gold Glove.

Semien was an MVP finalist, won a Silver Slugger Award, and was an all-star. Simply put, he was one of the best players in baseball in 2021.

The Rangers rewarded Semien with a seven-year $175 million dollar deal. Semien was one of two big bats brought in to try and make the Rangers more competitive.

Unfortunately, Semien wasn't nearly as productive as he was last season.

The second baseman slashed .248/.304/.429 with 26 home runs and 83 RBI. His 108 OPS+ was slightly above league average. The Rangers are not paying Semien to be slightly above league average.

Semien was in the 95th percentile in outs above average according to baseball savant, so at least his glove remained elite.

If the Rangers have any plans on competing in the near future they will need Semien to be the all-star he once was.

Semien will be making $26 million dollars annually through the 2027 season and will make $20 million in 2028. With 2022 already being a down year, it's safe to assume that the 32-year-old won't live up to the large contract.

2) Worst contracts in the AL West: Corey Seager

Corey Seager was the second middle infielder brought in by the Rangers in the 2021-22 offseason. Seager and Semien were brought in to be the two best players on a team that was trying to be competitive. The Rangers went 68-94 in 2022.

Seager's contract was an expensive one, to say the least. The 28-year-old signed a ten-year $325 million dollar deal with the Rangers. That contract is the largest in Rangers history by a landslide, besting Alex Rodriguez's ten-year $252 million dollar deal.

To me, this deal was questionable at the time of the signing. Durability has always been a concern with Seager, and to me, while he's very talented, he just hadn't performed like a $300+ million dollar player.

Seager's first year in Texas was solid, but nothing too crazy. He slashed .245/.317/.455 with 33 home runs and 83 RBI. The home runs and RBI were career highs for Seager. His 119 OPS+ was again solid, but nothing crazy.

Seager's contract is a lot to live up to, and I find it hard to believe he will. Seager is an all-star, but $32.5 million dollars annually should mean a little bit more than that.

Seager will be 38 and in decline when his contract expires. Hopefully, his peak and/or the Rangers' performance in October will make it worthwhile for Texas.

1) Worst contracts in the AL West: Anthony Rendon

Following the 2019 season, Anthony Rendon signed a massive seven-year $245 million dollar deal with the Angels. Rendon was joining what should have been a formidable lineup that included players like Mike Trout, Albert Pujols, and Shohei Ohtani.

Rendon was one of the best players in baseball and was just the best player on a World Series-winning Nationals team in 2019.

Rendon's first year in Anaheim was alright. In the shortened season he had a .915 OPS with nine home runs. He even finished 10th in the MVP balloting. Since then, everything has gone downhill.

Rendon played in just 58 games last season. In those games, he hit just six home runs and had a .712 OPS. His OPS+ was a below-average 94. He missed most of the season with injury.

This season was more of the same from Rendon. He played in just 47 games, hit five home runs, and had a .706 OPS.

In the first three seasons of this contract, Rendon was most productive during a 60-game season where the Angels went 26-34.

Rendon will make $38 million dollars annually through the 2026 season. He's among the highest-paid position players by average annual value.

The 32-year-old has not even played in 162 games as an Angel yet. He will be 36 when this contract expires.

This deal is not only one of the worst in baseball, it's one of the worst in MLB history so far. Rendon can make up for it by producing in the next couple of seasons, but so far it's not looking great at all.