Atlanta Braves Trade Rumors- Bad Contract Swap Edition!
By Ryan Cothran
Last year, when bad contracts were mentioned regarding the Atlanta Braves…
…there were 2: B.J. Upton, Dan Uggla. While the burden of Uggla’s contract still lies in the hands of the 2015 Braves, the days of dreaming for a swap have now come to a close. Now, we can only dream that 2014’s offseason will be the final days of which the older Upton dons the Atlanta Braves as his employer. While B.J.’s contract remains extra burdensome for a mid-market team such as our beloved Braves, the fact remains… it could be a whole lot worse. Scouring Cot’s Baseball Contracts, I have come up with a list of bad contracts and actually, it was quite surprising how many are just as bad, or much, MUCH worse than the one the Braves gave B.J. Through this exorcism exercise, we will list the entire bad contract lot, then in the comments section try to discuss a match for the Braves. On said list you will see the player, the bad contract (duration and salary), and last year’s WAR according to Fangraphs. We’re really doing this, you guys! We will split this up into 2 posts, so let’s start with the American League, shall we?
American League Bad Contract- Who’s a match for the Atlanta Braves?
Baltimore Orioles: Ubaldo Jimenez – owed 39.5MM through 2017. Worth 0.5 WAR last year.
Chicago White Sox: John Danks– owed 31.5MM through 2016. Worth 0.8 WAR last year.
Cleveland Indians: Nick Swisher– owed 30MM through 2016. Worth -1.6 WAR last year.
Michael Bourn– owed 27.5MM through 2016. Worth 0.4 WAR last year.
Detroit Tigers: Justin Verlander– owed 160MM through 2019. Worth 3.3 WAR last year.
Minnesota Twins: Joe Mauer– owed 92MM through 2018. Worth 1.9 WAR last year.
Ricky Nolasco– owed 36MM through 2017. Worth 1.2 WAR last year.
New York Yankees: Mark Teixeira– owed 46MM through 2016. Worth 0.8 WAR last year.
Alex Rodriguez– owed 64MM through 2017. Worth 0.0 WAR last year.
C.C. Sabathia– owed 53MM through 2016. Worth 0.1 WAR last year.
Brian McCann– owed 68MM through 2018. Worth 2.3 WAR last year.
Carlos Beltran– owed 30MM through 2016. Worth -0.5 WAR last year.
Texas Rangers: Prince Fielder– owed 120MM through 2019. Worth -0.3 WAR last year.
Shin-Soo Choo– owed 95MM through 2019. Worth 0.2 WAR last year.
Elvis Andrus– owed 120MM through 2022. Worth 1.3 WAR last year.
So, there ya have it. Out of those 15 contracts, I would say that at least 8 of them are just as bad, or worse, than the one the Braves gave out to B.J. What’s your opinion? Also, do you see any intriguing names that could make for a good bad contract swap? Let’s hear it from the peanut gallery!