San Francisco Giants Duo Listed Among Worst Contracts in Baseball

Which San Francisco Giants players landed among the worst contracts in Major League Baseball right now?

Aug 14, 2024; San Francisco, California, USA; San Francisco Giants starting pitcher Robbie Ray (23) delivers a pitch against the Atlanta Braves during the first inning at Oracle Park. / D. Ross Cameron-Imagn Images

There have been reports circulating that the San Francisco Giants aren’t in a position to spend money this offseason.

That is certainly bad news for the new president of baseball operations Buster Posey, as he won’t have the means to upgrade the team’s roster. His first offseason at the helm could be spent mostly cleaning up some of the issues the previous regime left him with.

It will be interesting to see how he navigates those money issues, as the roster has plenty of holes that need to be filled. The lineup is lacking everyday contributors beyond third baseman Matt Chapman, shortstop Tyler Fitzgerald and outfielder Heliot Ramos.

There are question marks pretty much everywhere else, except for catcher, where Patrick Bailey will likely be the starter. The team would just like to see more production from him.

These monetary handcuffs have been self-inflicted as some of their acquisitions in recent offseasons have not panned out. Last winter, Farhan Zaidi spent a lot of money to try and push his team back into the postseason but it didn’t pan out and he lost his job.

Chapman was a home-run signing, but he alone cannot make up for the other misses. While they got out of one of those issues, trading Jorge Soler to the Atlanta Braves, some are still on the roster taking up valuable salary cap space.

One of them is starting pitcher Robbie Ray, who was acquired last offseason in a trade with the Seattle Mariners. The former Cy Young Award winner has two years and $50 million left on his contract and was named an honorable mention for the worst contracts in the sport by Cody Stavenhagen of The Athletic.

Seven mostly mediocre starts with a 4.70 ERA across 30.2 innings pitched was all San Francisco got from him in 2024 as he was recovering from Tommy John surgery the year prior. His debut was stellar, as he threw five shutout innings against the Los Angeles Dodgers but things went downhill quickly after that.

Joining the lefty pitcher on the honorable mentions list is Jung Hoo Lee. Patience needs to be exhibited with the Koren League import, as adjusting to the MLB will take a little bit of time.

But, his first season in North America certainly didn’t go as anyone had hoped it would. He played in only 37 games before suffering a season-ending shoulder injury, which will put him behind the eight-ball entering Year 2 as well.

His slash line of .261/.310/.331 left a lot to be desired, as he hit only two home runs with four doubles. Also concerning was how ineffective he was running the bases, recording only two steals and being caught three times.

With five years and $105.2 million remaining on his deal, which includes an opt-out in 2027, this could quickly become an albatross with an annual spot on the worst contracts in baseball list. There is still hope that he can figure things out, as he is only 26 years old, but that kind of committed money is having an impact on the front office being able to spend currently.