Worst Offseason MLB Free Agent Signing

And Brad Wilkerson.

 

Malign Carlos Silva all you want. He's the ultimate average pitcher. And $12 mil/year isn't a bad deal for a guy as reliable as him.

Over the last four years, he's had one bad year and compiled a 47-45 record. He's essentially Paul Byrd, whom the Indians have been ecstatic to have for $7 mil/year.

 

Or Jeff Suppan.

 

I know, but I had him as a very close second to Jones as getting the worst deal, so that little bit nudges me the other way.

 

Most teams would love to have Carlos Silva at the back end of their rotations. He's a big, durable guy who will make his 30 starts, pitch his 200-plus innings and there's a real good chance he'll walk fewer batters than any other starter in the league. Guys can make a lot of money doing that in baseball and I think the Mariners were pretty smart to lock him in for a few years.

 

Good luck with that.

I don't know where to get the data, but I'd bet that 90% of pitchers with more wins, more IP, and better winning percentage than Carlos Silva from 2003-2007 are making sizeable cash.

 

Even though he's having a good year to date, I still think the Reds' four-year, $46 million deal for Francisco Cordero was dumb in exelsius. He was cruising along at this point last year too when he hit the wall. He was average at best the rest of the way.

No closer deserves that kind of money, particularly on a small-market team that can't weigh itself down with dumb contracts, and especially for a guy with as inconsistent a track record as Cordero has.

As bad as Gagne's been for the Brewers, I'll take his 1-year, $10 mil over 4 years, $46 mil for Cordero ... not that the dumb ass Brewers didn't try to lock Cordero up for a similar deal.

 

Is that the guy who signed a four-year, $42 mil contract before the 2007 season?

 

I voted for Eric Gagne because I think at the time everyone's reaction was "wait - they gave him how much?" The Brewers should have known better.

However, the potential exists for Tom Glavine to be the worst signing. I love the sentimentality of him finishing up in Atlanta and he still has some powder in the guns but his signing cost the Braves their first round pick in compensation.

Now they Mets will be drafting 18th with Atlanta's pick. If they get a stud - then the Glavine signing could prove to be costly. Of course the MLB draft is for the most part a complete crap shoot.

BTW - the only good thing about Gagne is he earned the Red Sox a sandwich pick.

 

He pitched eight shutout innings Wednesday night and has six "quality starts" this season. He's been a victim of non-support a lot. His ERA is 3.93 as we speak. I'd say that's above average.

But the contract makes fanboi loosers expect a lot more, as they always fail to recognize the importance of a guy who has made at least 30 starts nine straight seasons. There are only three or four guys with a better streak than that. Does that make him above average? Depends on who you ask. If you ask a major-league manager, the answer would be "you betcha."

 

I picked Wilkerson for that reason in the poll. Anyone already gone from a team has to be a disaster.

If I had to vote again, I'd say Gagne might be close behind.