When Monday started, only three teams in Major League Baseball history had yet to hand out a contract over $100 million. By 10 a.m., just the Oakland A's and Chicago White Sox were left as the Kansas City Royals signed 23-year-old Bobby Witt Jr. to an 11-year, $288.8 million deal. The franchise's previous high had been four years and $82 million for Salvador Perez. This is also the 15th-highest contract ever handed out in baseball history.
Of the 14 contracts worth more than Witt's, two were handed out by the Los Angeles Dodgers this off-season when they signed Shohei Ohtani (10 years, $700 million) and Yoshinobu Yamamoto (12 years, $325 million). The rest of the list is filled with current contracts for Mookie Betts ($365 M), Mike Trout ($360 M), Aaron Judge ($360 M), Francisco Lindor ($341 M), Fernando Tatís Jr. ($340 M), Bryce Harper ($330 M), Corey Seager ($325 M), Giancarlo Stanton ($325 M), Gerrit Cole ($324 M), Rafael Devers ($313.5 M), Manny Machado ($300 M), and Trea Turner ($300 M).
While three of those contracts belong to the Dodgers, three currently with the Yankees, and two to the Phillies, there are also big-time deals on this list being handed out by the Padres, Royals, and even Stanton's deal was agreed to when he was with the Marlins. There should be no excuse for any team not to spend if these smaller market teams are able to make it work. The A's drew 1.67 million in 2019, before the Covid season, then limited attendance due to Covid restrictions in 2021. By 2022 they had torn down the roster and the fans had had enough.
[
add
]
[
|
|
...
]