Using projections and other fancy math, ESPN.com (insider required) has determined that the bloated contract of a deteriorating Alex Rodriguez is not, in fact, the worst deal in MLB.
That distinction belongs to the Phillies' Ryan Howard, who signed a 5-year, $125 million deal in 2010.
At this point, ZiPS projects the contract to be essentially a total loss for the Phillies, with Howard only projected at 5.0 total WAR over the course of the contract (and assuming the $10 million buyout is taken for the final year). That's equivalent to a $94 million loss, a worse projected return than even the A-Rod contract, a deal that the Yankees find daily reason to regret, which ZiPS projects as an $88 million loss. (For the record: ZiPS still holds out some hope for Albert Pujols, projecting his contract as only a $90 million loss.)
Ouch. Twins bashers will note that Joe Mauer's 8-year, $184-million deal is nowhere to be found in this report.
Michael Rand started RandBall with hopes that he could convince the world to love jumpsuits as much as he does. So far, he's only succeeded in using the word "redacted" a lot. He welcomes suggestions, news tips, links of pure genius, and pictures of pets in Halloween costumes here, though he already knows he will regret that last part. Follow @randball on Twitter.
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