The Toronto Blue Jays signed George Springer to a $150 million contract on a 6 year term which has aged terribly and ranked him the top 5 worst contracts in the American League.
When general manger Ross Atkins decided to sign Springer to a $150 million deal, most believed that it was a risk on such a big term but were hopeful that he could help the Blue Jays go on a deep run in the playoffs.
George Springer ranked among the top 5 worst contracts in the American League
After his first season Toronto dealing with injuries, Springer was an All-Star after a great season in 2022 but has since been continuously regressing to the point where his contract is ranked the fourth worst in the American League. 2024 was more of the same as he continue to play worst as Springer had possibly the worst season of his career.
Initially, Springer had trouble staying healthy during his first season with the club in 2021. But when he did play, he delivered exactly what was expected of him with 59 runs scored, 22 home runs and 50 RBI in just 78 games played,. More importantly, he would often come through with big hits in the clutch. Springer followed that up with another All-Star season in 2022, but since then, things had been heading downhill ever since. -Eng
Most believe he would not live up to his contract but that it could come in the final year of the deal instead of the third year which is why this deal has aged so poorly.
Among this list of worst contracts in the AL, there is Masatake Yoshida at number 5 who signed for 5 years $90 million with the Red Sox. DJ LeMahieu with the Yankees who is on a 6 year $90 million deal which gave him the third spot. Another Yankee, Giancarlo Stanton's 13 years $125 million contract earned him the number 2 spot with the Red Sox Trevor Story's 6 year $140 million earning the number 1 spot.
While the silver lining is that George Springer does not have the worst contract in the American League, being fourth on the list is definitely not something to be happy about.