Atlanta Braves Trade Rumors- Bad Contract Swap Edition, Part 2
By Ryan Cothran
Atlanta Braves bad contract, numero uno, B.J. Upton!
Yesterday, we looked at the entire list of bad contracts in the American League, and it was pretty ugly. Some not as ugly as the Braves own bad contract, but some that are SO bad there must have been crack involved in order for the GM to offer such a contract. Today, it’s the National League’s turn to list the worst of the best and let’s take a looksy to see if there’s a potential match. On the list you will see the player, the bad contract (duration and salary), last year’s WAR according to Fangraphs, and all salary numbers come from Cot’s Contracts. For measurement’s sake, here’s the remaining contract of our worst contract:
Atlanta Braves: B.J. Upton– owed 46.4 million through 2017, worth 0.4 WAR last year.
National League Bad Contract- Who’s a fit for the Atlanta Braves?
Chicago Cubs: Edwin Jackson– owed 26 million through 2016, worth 0.5 WAR last year
Cincinnati Reds: Brandon Phillips– owed 37 million through 2017, worth 1.8 WAR last year
Homer Bailey– owed 91 million through 2019, worth 1.3 WAR last year
Milwaukee Brewers: Ryan Braun– owed 92 million through 2019, worth 1.2 WAR last year
New York Mets: David Wright– owed 115 million through 2020, worth 1.9 WAR last year
Curtis Granderson– owed 47 million through 2017, worth 1.0 WAR last year
Philadelphia Phillies: Ryan Howard– owed 60 million through 2016, worth -0.3 WAR last year
Washington Nationals: Ryan Zimmerman– owed 82 million through 2019, worth 1.2 WAR last year
Arizona Diamondbacks: Miguel Montero– owed 40 million through 2017, worth 1.2 WAR last year
Colorado Rockies: Carlos Gonzalez– owed 54 million through 2017, worth -0.3 WAR last year
Los Angeles Dodgers: Matt Kemp– owed 130 million through 2019, worth 1.8 WAR last year
Andre Ethier– owed 54 million through 2017, worth 0.7 WAR last year
San Francisco Giants: Matt Cain– owed 60 million through 2017 (option year), worth -0.3 WAR last year
So, there ya have it. Out of those 13 contracts, I would say that at least 3 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! I will say, off the top of my head, Matt Cain sounds very intriguing. He’s coming off of elbow surgery (albeit, not Tommy John) and is owed quite a bit of green. Over his past 2 years, he’s been worth 1 WAR total. Looking at the Giants outfield for 2015, they have Hunter Pence, Angel Pagan (who had season-ending back surgery), and Gregor Blanco. They’ll be looking to add a player, that’s for sure. While I don’t foresee B.J. really as an option for the Giants, it’s at least worthy of a look.