New York Yankees' Top Five Free-Agent Deals Gone Bad

Despite hefty price tags, baseball free-agents don't come with warranties.

As a Major League Baseball general manager, if you play, there's a chance you'll pay. Sometimes free-agent pick-ups work great. The New York Yankees are no strangers to playing the free-agent sweepstakes.

Ironically, in this off-season it is no secret that the Bronx Bombers need starting pitching. In recent years, four of their five worst free-agent signings have been hurlers.

Below is my list of the five worst Yankees free-agent signings in recent off-seasons.

(These stats were tabulated by the author and are not official MLB stats.)

5. P Jaret Wright

Three years, $21 million

16-12, 5.28 ERA, 203.3 IP, 1.32 K/BB

Wright was traded to the Baltimore Orioles after his second year with the Yankees. This was a reach because Wright only had one full-season of success with the Atlanta Braves at the time. He also didn't have a solid playoff showing for the Bombers.

4. 1B Jason Giambi

Seven years, $120 million

209 HR, 604 RBI, 706 SO, .254 AVG

Giambi hit 41 home runs in each of his first two seasons in the Bronx. Then his production tailed-off and his average plummeted. He's awful as a first baseman, but the Yankees had to play him there because he doesn't hit as well when he's the designated hitter. Inking a free-agent to such a big number for so many years is almost certainly going to fail.

3. P Jose Contreras

Four years, $32 million

15-7, 4.47 ERA, 166.2 IP, 2.13 K/BB

In his first season with the Yanks in '03, Contreras had a 22.34 ERA as a starter (7.43 ERA out of the pen), spent two months on the disabled list and had four stints in the minors. The next season, he was inconsistent again and spent a month in the minors. After only a season and a half in the Bronx, he was traded to the White Sox.

2. P Kei Igawa

Five years, $20 million (plus $26 million posting fee)

2-4, 6.65 ERA, 71.2 IP, 1.43 K/BB

Just securing the rights to talk to Igawa came with a whopping $26 million price tag. Can you say, "You had me at konnichiwa?" After losing the Dice-K sweepstakes against the Red Sox, the Yankees just had to have any Japanese pitcher they could get their hands on to keep up with the Epsteins.

1. P Carl Pavano

Four years, $40 million

9-8, 5.00 ERA, 145.2 IP, 2.50 K/BB

Pavano got a huge contract from the team he beat in the World Series. He really only had one solid season with the Florida Marlins. Most of the time, Pavano suffered from a laundry list of injuries, including his buttocks—apparently from sitting on his arse all the time.

You're currently logged into Facebook

Do you want to share your Bleacher Report activity on Facebook?