Some MLB owners have a desire to win and do their best to put a solid product out on the field.
Others just see it as a business and do whatever they can to keep the money in their pocket, not investing in the team or the fanbase.
Some teams choose to tank and trade off assets for future draft picks.
MLB writer Danny Vietti points out some interesting facts on Twitter about a few teams who are near the bottom in payroll, those being the Pittsburgh Pirates, Cleveland Guardians, and Oakland Athletics.
Vietti takes note of the largest contracts ever given out by these teams and that the players who were signed to those deals have not played in quite some time.
Largest contract ever given out by…
Pirates: Jason Kendall (6-years/$60M)
-hasn’t played since 2010Guardians: Edwin Encarnacion (3-years/$60M)
-hasn’t played since 2020A’s: Eric Chavez (6-years/$66M)
-hasn’t played since 2014— Danny Vietti (@DannyVietti) March 24, 2022
Bad Deals
These are some big deals that were handed out to these players, who haven’t played in quite a long time, with injuries playing a key role in some of these cases.
But it goes to show that these teams aren’t exactly that smart with their money, even when they try to go big.
The deals just haven’t panned out for them.
But even if the deals haven’t panned out, one would think that these teams would at least try again given that their owners are literal billionaires.
When you have that much money in your pocket, it isn’t that hard to try and put the best possible product out on the field in an attempt to win and show the fanbase that you care about the team and want to invest in it.
This is what the players were fighting for during the lockout, trying to create a system where every team tried their best to win.
Some teams are just cheap.
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