San Diego Padres: Ranking the 10 worst contracts in the NL West right now

The San Diego Padres are a team putting a lot of money into their payroll as they eye the franchise's first World Series championship. It's unlikely to come in 2023 as the team entered a critical homestand at 56-62 and 5.5 games back of a playoff spot. However, with the roster they have, a championship could come as soon as next season if A.J. Preller plays his cards right.

The Padres are just one of a few big spending teams in the NL West. The Dodgers are consistently among the league leaders in payroll, the Giants just attempted to add a ton of money to their payroll with Aaron Judge and Carlos Correa even if those deals failed to finalize, and the Rockies have had their moments when they're willing to spend some money as well.

There will always be diamonds in the rough and there will also be lucrative deals that fans can deem to be fair, but there're also some horrific contracts in the NL West. Here are the 10 worst.

10) Worst contracts in the NL West: Matt Carpenter of the San Diego Padres

It looked like Matt Carpenter had revived his career. He was on his way towards retirement after doing practically nothing at the MLB level from 2019-2021 before suddenly having a monster year in 2022 for the Yankees. They signed him out of desperation as they were dealing with a slew of injuries, and Carpenter rewarded them with 15 home runs and a whopping 219 OPS+ in just 47 games played.

After watching Carpenter go on the best stretch of his career out of nowhere, the Padres signed him to a two-year deal worth $12 million. He's earning $3.5 million this season, and has a player option worth $5.5 million for 2024. He also earned a $3 million signing bonus.

Carpenter was brought in to be the primary DH against right-handed pitching and got off to a good start, posting a .908 OPS in the month of April when virtually nobody else outside of Xander Bogaerts was hitting. Since the calendar flipped to May, Carpenter has done little offensively.

The veteran infielder has just 15 hits in his last 117 at-bats since May 1. He's slashing .128/.262/.197 in that time with one home run and 11 RBI. Remember, this is the primary DH we're talking about here. Carpenter has a handful of appearances at first base and has pinch hit on occasion, but he's mainly been a DH.

The worst part about this, is Carpenter hasn't appeared in a game since he pinch hit on July 24. He's gone almost one month without appearing in a game, yet he continues to occupy a roster spot. The contract is likely the only reason why San Diego hasn't cut bait yet.

9) Worst contracts in the NL West: Sean Manaea of the San Francisco Giants

Padres fans are familiar with this name as Sean Manaea pitched for the Friars in the 2022 season. He was a decent back-end starter but wasn't good enough to play any sort of big role in their postseason run as he made just one appearance. That appearance was one Padres fans will want to forget.

Manaea wound up leaving San Diego for one of their division rivals, the San Francisco Giants. He signed a two-year deal worth $25 million. He's making $7.5 million this season, and another $12.5 million next season to go along with $5 million of signing bonus money. That contract has not aged well in the slightest.

Manaea opened the year as a starting pitcher primarily, and he struggled mightily in that role. He had a 7.54 ERA in six starts before being moved permanently to the bullpen. He completed five innings just twice while allowing at least four earned runs three times.

He's pitched better since being moved to a full-time reliever, posting a 3.66 ERA in his last 20 appearances and 51.2 innings pitched, but the Giants didn't give Manaea $25 million to be nothing more than a low-leverage long reliever. The Giants certainly won't be planning on him being a big part of the rotation, so paying him $12.5 million next season is not good value at all.

8) Worst contracts in the NL West: Robert Suarez of the San Diego Padres

Robert Suarez came out of nowhere last season and was one of the better set-up men in the National League. He had a 2.27 ERA in 45 appearances and worked his way up to being the primary set-up man for Josh Hader.

His season ended in a horrible way as he was the one to give up the back-breaker to Bryce Harper in the NLCS clincher, but had done enough in the eyes of A.J. Preller to earn a five-year deal worth $46 million. I personally wouldn't have given Suarez that much term when looking at how volatile relievers are, and Suarez is proving me right with a rough first year.

Shoulder inflammation forced Suarez to begin the season on the IL, and he wound up missing the first half of the season nursing that injury. He made his season debut on July 21 and has made 10 appearances. His 6.10 ERA doesn't look great, but that's also skewed by one awful outing.

The right-hander is already 32 years of age and has just one year of success on his MLB resume. This deal can turn into a good one, but with how volatile relievers are and the fact that he's made just ten appearances since signing it without another four years to go, he'll have to show it before being taken off of this list.

7) Worst contracts in the NL West: Manny Machado of the San Diego Padres

This is not me saying Manny Machado is not a good player. He's an excellent player and is easily one of the better third basemen in the game. When looking at a bad contract, you need to look at the many factors involved with the contract.

Back in 2019, Machado signed a 10-year deal worth $300 million. The deal included an opt-out after the 2023 season which Machado was planning on exercising before the two sides agreed to an extension that tacked on an extra five years and $170 million on top of the remaining six years and $180 million.

Machado will be a Padre through the 2033 season with this deal in place, and will likely wear a Padres cap into Cooperstown. That's all great. That doesn't mean it'll age well.

Machado is 31 years old and this contract will keep him in a Padres uniform through his age 42 season. You'd expect him to be a shell of the player he was last year by then ... but what if I told you he's already a much worse version of the player he was in 2022?

Machado had a terrific season in 2022, finishing as the NL MVP runner-up to Paul Goldschmidt and smacking 32 home runs with an .898 OPS. This season, Machado has slashed .256/.321/.457 with 21 home runs and 68 RBI. He's seen his OPS dip by 120 points, and he has just a 115 OPS+. Not bad, but not exactly elite either.

The Padres extended Machado expecting him to be a franchise player for a vast majority of the contract, yet he's already faltered in year one. If Machado didn't get off to the miserable start he got off to, maybe this Padres team is in a whole different spot when it comes to the postseason race.

6) Worst contracts in the NL West: Yu Darvish of the San Diego Padres

Yu Darvish is another player who was set to hit free agency following the 2023 season, but the Padres kept him around for the long haul. They inked the right-hander to a six-year deal worth $108 million. He was already making $18 million this season, so the extension was essentially five years for $90 million.

On the surface, that's not a bad deal for one of the best pitchers in the game. Darvish had a terrific season which saw him post a 3.10 ERA in 30 starts and 194.2 innings pitched in 2022 and and he even finished eighth in the NL Cy Young balloting.

This season has been a different story. He has a 4.19 ERA in 21 starts and 120.1 innings pitched. He's seen his walk rate shoot up from 4.8% last season to 8.0% this season, and he's seen opponents raise their average against him from .207 to .247.

Darvish has taken the ball almost every turn through the rotation and has given length most of the time, but he just isn't the same Cy Young caliber pitcher he was even last season. Considering the fact that he's clearly in decline at age 36 with another five years on his contract that doesn't feel like a good thing.

5) Worst contracts in the NL West: Xander Bogaerts of the San Diego Padres

Again, Xander Bogaerts is another example of a good player who's just on a bad contract. You knew this would be a rough contract from the moment it was signed. Bogaerts inked an 11-year deal worth $280 million to leave Boston and join the Friars. The deal was celebrated when it went down as the Padres seemed to have improved their already good shot at a title, but things haven't panned out the way they envisioned.

The new Padres shortstop is slashing .271/.344/.400 with 12 home runs and 40 RBI. He has a 108 OPS+ making him just marginally above average offensively, although his defense has been much better than advertised.

The Padres added Bogaerts mainly to provide some more offensive firepower. However, after a hot start, he's done very little in that regard. Bogaerts was one of the only Padres to do anything offensively in April as he hit over .300 with six home runs and a .914 OPS. Since then, he's slashed .259/.324/.361 with six home runs and 27 RBI. He's been average, if not below average offensively for most of the season (although he's swung the bat better in August).

The Padres are going to need a whole lot more from Bogaerts in the next couple of years before this contract really turns out to be a bad one. He's 30 right now, but this contract runs through his age 41 season. Decline in year one is never a good thing.

4) Worst contracts in the NL West: Chris Taylor of the Los Angeles Dodgers

Yes, even the Dodgers can make mistakes. Each of the top two highest paid Dodgers players in Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman have arguments of being the best player in baseball, but if you look deeper down the contract list the Dodgers have, Chris Taylor's isn't too pretty.

Taylor signed a four-year deal worth $60 million entering the 2022 season. The deal made a ton of sense at the time as Taylor was a very productive hitter and his versatility made him a player Los Angeles just couldn't afford to lose.

Since signing the deal, Taylor has been a completely different player. He had a .677 OPS last season and struck out a whopping 35.2% of the time. This was a guy who was an all-star in 2021 before losing his starting job entirely as the season winded down.

This season has been better than last, but still not great. Taylor is slashing .218/.306/.414 with 12 home runs and 37 RBI. He's hitting for more power and is striking out a bit less (still 32.1% K-rate) but a .720 OPS and a 92 OPS+ is not what the Dodgers signed up for.

Taylor is making $15 million this season and is set to make $13 million in each of the next two seasons. He then has a club option for another $12 million with a $4 million buyout. Taylor essentially has two years guaranteed on his deal after this one for $30 million. That's a lot of money for a below average hitter who the Dodgers can't give regular playing time to.

3) Worst contracts in the NL West: Mitch Haniger of the San Francisco Giants

The San Francisco Giants were expected to be among the big spenders of last offseason. They had Aaron Judge on a massive deal ... until they didn't. They then had Carlos Correa on a big deal ... until he failed his physical and that all went downhill.

The Giants missed on all of their big swings, so they had to settle for the next tier. Manaea was one of the free agents they signed to try and fortify their rotation. Another player brought in was Mitch Haniger who inked a three-year deal worth $43.5 million to come to San Francisco. Year one of the deal has one the veteran outfielder will want to forget.

Haniger's beginning to his Giants tenure was delayed due to an oblique strain he suffered in Spring Training. He'd make his debut on April 24 and play play for almost two months as the team's primary left fielder. He struggled with his new team, slashing .230/.281/.372 with four home runs and 22 RBI.

Then, in a game in St. Louis in mid-June, Haniger was hit by a Jack Flaherty change-up and fractured his forearm. He underwent surgery and has been on the IL ever since.

The oft-injured Haniger is making just $5 million this season but is set to earn $17 million in 2024 and has a player option worth another $15 million in 2025. Getting hit by a pitch obviously isn't his fault, but that doesn't change the fact that Haniger has played over 100 games just twice in his seven-year MLB career. For this contract to make any sort of sense, he's going to have to play more in the future while also being more productive than the .653 OPS hitter he had been prior to his second IL stint of the season.

2) Worst contracts in the NL West: Kris Bryant of the Colorado Rockies

When Kris Bryant entered free agency, the likelihood of him signing a massive nine-figure free agent deal was very high. He was a great player who of course won an MVP and a World Series title with the Cubs. What nobody expected was for the Rockies, just one year after trading Nolan Arenado, to be the team to sign him.

Bryant joined a Rockies team that seemingly had no direction after they gave him a seven-year deal worth $182 million prior to the 2022 season. Bryant was locked in as a Rockie through the 2028 season in a deal that still makes absolutely no sense.

The first year of his deal seemed like a wash. Bryant played well when on the field, hitting over .300 with an .851 OPS, but he was limited to just 42 games. This season has brought more injuries for Bryant who has had multiple stints on the IL. He's currently out with a fractured finger.

In the 65 games he's been healthy enough to play in, Bryant has slashed .251/.338/.379 with eight home runs and 23 RBI. He's still missed a ton of time but this season he hasn't been nearly as productive as he was in 2022. He's played in just 107 games in his two seasons so far and he's been worth -0.2 bWAR in those games. He still has another five years worth $131 million on his deal after this one. It's not looking good at all.