The Cubs give Alfonso Soriano the worst contract in baseball history
The Chicago Cubs have reportedly agreed to an 8 year, $136 million deal with Alfonso Soriano.
That would be $17 million per year for 8 years for a guy who has never had a season in his career where he was a $17 million player, a guy who doesn't walk, who doesn't have any defensive value, and whose game is predicated on hitting home runs and stealing bases.
This contract is ludicrous. I predicted a while back that Soriano would be a bench player by around 2009 or 2010, and I would only change that now to say that he'll be a bench caliber player at that time, although his contract is such that he'll continue to be an everyday player.
I'm flabbergasted. Vlad Guerrero -- a much better player than Soriano -- couldn't get close to this a few years ago. Carlos Beltran -- a much better player than Soriano -- got basically the same deal two offseasons ago.
This is worse than the Chan Ho Park deal. It is worse than the Mike Hampton signing.
If this report is correct, I am hard pressed to think of a worse contract signing by any team in baseball history.
Update [2006-11-19 15:50:4 by Adam J. Morris]: -- Just to put this in perspective...Soriano last year, in his best offensive season, was 17th in the N.L. in VORP, behind, among others, Matt Holliday, Brian McCann, Hanley Ramirez, Nick Johnson, and Garrett Atkins.
This is absolutely unreal.
0 recs |
38 comments
Comments
I'm speechless
by BurntOrange on
Nov 19, 2006 2:35 PM CST
reply
actions
0 recs
Good for Sori
by Longhorn on
Nov 19, 2006 2:37 PM CST
reply
actions
0 recs
Or...
by i hit straight ball very much on
Nov 19, 2006 2:37 PM CST
reply
actions
0 recs
taking all bets...
by tdi1985 on
Nov 19, 2006 2:39 PM CST
reply
actions
0 recs
I'll take that bet
by BurntOrange on
Nov 19, 2006 2:42 PM CST
up
reply
actions
0 recs
pretty unbelieveable
by selppuc on
Nov 19, 2006 2:40 PM CST
reply
actions
0 recs
Lots of money for unclutchness
by Chris Martin on
Nov 19, 2006 2:42 PM CST
reply
actions
0 recs
What does this do to Lee
by simbaa on
Nov 19, 2006 2:44 PM CST
reply
actions
0 recs
What in God's name?
by cmkelly29 on
Nov 19, 2006 2:50 PM CST
reply
actions
0 recs
No freaking way
Dear sweet jeebus I feel bad for Cubs fans.
by thedirkatron on
Nov 19, 2006 2:56 PM CST
reply
actions
0 recs
You're wrong
8 years/121M for Hampton is worse than
8 years/136M for Soriano
by Coolbean04 on
Nov 19, 2006 3:09 PM CST
reply
actions
0 recs
both are
by kwellborn on
Nov 19, 2006 8:25 PM CST
up
reply
actions
0 recs
You nailed it
Still, its a bad contract, and it reminds me of how much Detroit would have suffered if Juan signed the 8 years, $140 million contract.
Personally, I think I'd go with a hard rule of never signing a contract over 5 years if I was a team. There is way too much risk with guaranteed contracts to lock up longer than 5, and I'd probably be shooting for 3 year contracts.
by DJCahill on
Nov 20, 2006 6:20 AM CST
up
reply
actions
0 recs
Soriano's position
by Chris Martin on
Nov 19, 2006 3:10 PM CST
reply
actions
0 recs
Yep
by Adam J. Morris on
Nov 19, 2006 3:13 PM CST
up
reply
actions
0 recs
Jim Hendry
- Soriano (CF)
- DeRosa (2B)
- Lee (1B)
- Ramirez (3B)
- Barrett (c)
- Jones (RF)
- Murton (LF)
- Izturis (SS)
by pblack on
Nov 19, 2006 3:13 PM CST
reply
actions
0 recs
that lineup
by dylanj on
Nov 19, 2006 4:27 PM CST
up
reply
actions
0 recs
serioulsy
what exaclty about that lineup is mediocre especially for a NL team
by dylanj on
Nov 19, 2006 4:45 PM CST
up
reply
actions
0 recs
i'm not sure
or if he was correcting the first poster's spelling.
by tdi1985 on
Nov 19, 2006 4:51 PM CST
up
reply
actions
0 recs
I'm in the minority
Having said that, they are paying out the ass for guys like Soriano, Lee and Ramirez, and DeRosa, Barrett and Jones aren't that cheap. And their pitching staff, unless they manage to through tons more dollars at it, would be a long shot to support that lineup into a top team. And their payroll would just be gigantic if they did that in addition to signing Sori and Aramis.
by Brett Perryman on
Nov 20, 2006 1:35 AM CST
up
reply
actions
0 recs
later is the problem
by t ball on
Nov 20, 2006 7:11 AM CST
up
reply
actions
0 recs
just curious....
by erikj07 on
Nov 19, 2006 3:13 PM CST
reply
actions
0 recs
i dont know
by rentz on
Nov 19, 2006 3:20 PM CST
up
reply
actions
0 recs
Market
by shrinking violet on
Nov 19, 2006 4:20 PM CST
reply
actions
0 recs
x
by alon91 on
Nov 19, 2006 5:56 PM CST
reply
actions
0 recs
Why are you sad now ?
by tklawless on
Nov 19, 2006 8:14 PM CST
up
reply
actions
0 recs
less so
Soriano is an established player, with well known limitations. Casual fans probably think Soriano is an elite player, but GMs are paid to understand baseball better than anyone else. The fact that a GM paid Soriano like a superstar is crazy.
by alon91 on
Nov 19, 2006 10:07 PM CST
up
reply
actions
0 recs
Predictable
by T Coleman on
Nov 19, 2006 7:43 PM CST
reply
actions
0 recs
Cubs payroll; Drew
Drew will probably get $15 now.
I can't wait to see what Hendry does next, and what magic he pulls off at the '07 trade deadline.
by t ball on
Nov 19, 2006 10:38 PM CST
reply
actions
0 recs








