Ranking the worst current contracts in the National League West

The San Diego Padres are no strangers to some bad, bad contracts. From the Wil Myers deal that looked like a bad idea from the beginning to Eric Hosmer's deal that somehow was even worse, the Padres have handed out some true stinker deals in the not-too-distant past.

In this day and age, it is actually a good bit harder to give out the truly terrible deals. Teams are (mostly) averse to handing out long-term contracts to older players which used to be the worst contracts out there, and player value has become more homogenized across the league over time.

Still, however, that hasn't prevented teams, including Padres, from handing out some very, very questionable pacts that are still on the books.

Here are the 6 worst contracts in the NL West from bad to terrible

Just for the sake of explanation, this isn't a historical comparison using deals that are no longer in force. An all-time terrible contract list for the NL West would look very different, although the offending teams would probably look quite similar. This is about deals that are currently on payrolls in the division and how they stack up against each other with their terribleness.

6. Diamondbacks' Jordan Montgomery: 1 year, $25 million left after 2024

It is hard to make this sort of list when a deal only has one year left on it, but unfortunately Montgomery's contract with the DBacks somehow pulled it off. Scott Boras overplayed his hand with Montgomery last offseason and he ended up having to settle for basically a two-year deal once the year began. Now, not only did Montgomery not get paid like he thought, but Arizona probably regrets giving him even that much. Montgomery has a 6.23 ERA and was moved to the bullpen.

5. Padres' Jake Cronenworth: 6 years, $72.7 million left after 2024

While Cronenworth has shown flashes here and there, his presence on the Padres' payroll has unnecessarily complicated their roster situation from the moment San Diego gave him a seven-year contract extension before the 2023 season. Cronenworth doesn't look all that bad on a per year basis given what some guys are getting, but committing $12 million a year to a guy that is very "mid" through 2030 doesn't feel particularly great.

4. Dodgers' Tyler Glasnow: 3 years, $97.5 million left after 2024

The only reason the extension that Glasnow signed with the Dodgers after he was traded there isn't any higher on this list is because he is quite good when he is on the mound. However, for a guy that is making $32+ million a year, he sure seems to get hurt a lot. In addition to his previous injury history that makes his last name strangely appropriate, he has been on the shelf since the middle of August with elbow troubles and he just suffered a setback that could jeopardize his 2024 and 2025. That does not bode well for his future availability no matter how much LA is paying him.

3. SF Giants' Robbie Ray: 2 years, $50 million left after 2024

This is a sad one because Robbie Ray's 2021 Cy Young season was truly spectacular. For his efforts, he was rewarded with a five-year, $115 million deal from the Seattle Mariners. After a mediocre first season with Seattle, 2023 was a disaster. He needed Tommy John surgery and was then traded to the Giants after the season. With all of his injuries, which now includes a hamstring ailment this year with the Giants, there is no chance he is opting out of his deal and San Francisco is going to have to hope that he can return to form after making a total of eight starts over the last two years.

2. Padres' Xander Bogaerts: 9 years, $229 million left after 2024

Before Padres fans flame us too badly, the number of deals in excess of 10 years that end up being actually good contracts is an incredibly short list. Players just fall off too much as they age, especially at quick-twitch positions like the middle infield, for them to provide the best value possible. Combine that with a second straight subpar season out of Bogaerts that has been marred by injury and you have what looks like a true albatross of a contract San Diego is going to have around their necks for a long time no matter how good he looked before they signed him.

1. Rockies' Kris Bryant: 4 years, $108 million left after 2024

This contract is an all-time craptastic contract. There was certainly a time when Bryant was one of the best hitters in baseball when he was with the Cubs. However, he noticeably declined in 2020 and his 2021 was more "pretty good" than anything else. That decline, along with concerns over how his body (particularly his shoulder), was aging led most to believe that he was going to have to accept a short-term "prove it" deal when he finally reached free agency. Instead, Colorado inexplicably gave him a seven-year, $182 million deal before the 2022 season.

The Rockies' reward for their faith in Bryant? Well, Bryant has openly questioned his decision to sign with them as he didn't realize how grim their future outlook was (which everyone else knew other than him, apparently); he has played a total of 159 games due to numerous injuries; and he sports a .713 OPS during his time in Colorado, which has the most hitter-friendly home park in all of baseball. Yep, this one is the worst and it isn't close.

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