Baseball's 2012 All-Overpaid Team

Baseball players are always under fire for receiving gigantic contracts worth millions and millions of dollars. However, people normally don't complain as much when those players are producing well.

Questions start to rise when production goes down. All of a sudden, that huge investment doesn't look half as appealing as it once did.

What we are going to do here is create a team featuring these high-pay, low-production players for 2012. Please keep in mind that I am only going to be looking at these players' 2012 performance.

This doesn't necessarily mean that any of these players are terrible, but it is simply saying that these players are not living up to their large contract value and the high expectations that accompany that paycheck so far in 2012.

All contract information and statistics were taken from Baseball Reference.

Where is Carl Crawford?

I assume that many of you will want me to include Carl Crawford, Ryan Howard or Chase Utley because they obviously haven't played at all this season. They are paid a lot for not playing.

However, players do not choose to sustain injuries. Therefore, I didn't want to penalize these players simply because something bad happened to them. If they had been playing, they might have had an opportunity to prove to all of us that they are worth their salary.

The only players that are going to be included on this list are ones that have had the opportunity to play this season, but they have not been living up to the high expectations placed upon them.

Catcher: Joe Mauer, Minnesota Twins

2012 Stat Line: .282, 1 HR, 15 RBI, 2 SB

2012 Salary: $23,000,000

Joe Mauer is a great catcher, but he is still trying to get back to level of performance that earned him the monstrous contract he is now receiving.

He always could be moved off of this list in the future if he regains his position as one of the best offensive catchers in baseball, but right now, that is a huge salary to be paying for only average offensive production so far in 2012.

First Base: Albert Pujols, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim

2012 Stat Line: .195, 1 HR, 11 RBI, 0 SB

2012 Salary: $12,000,000

There is substantial debate over the winter about whether Albert Pujols was worth his enormous contract. His performance this year has not helped end that debate.

Pujols is the closest thing we have to a machine that plays baseball. He has been extraordinarily consistent throughout his entire career, and I would not be surprised to see him get back on track very soon.

However, he is incredibly overpaid right now for those numbers.

Second Base: Dan Uggla, Atlanta Braves

2012 Stat Line: .282, 4 HR, 21 RBI, 0 SB

2012 Salary: $13,000,000

Dan Uggla is not necessarily having a bad year. His average is much higher than it usually is. However, $13,000,000 is a lot of money to pay for rather mediocre offensive performance.

Of course, he does play at a very scarce position, so that will drive contracts up, but that is still a very large contract that might have been able to be invested a little bit differently and perhaps more effectively.

Third Base: Kevin Youkilis, Boston Red Sox

2012 Stat Line: .219, 2 HR, 9 RBI, 0 SB

2012 Salary: $12,000,000

Kevin Youkilis has had a frustrating 2012 to say the least. After a very rough start to the season, he landed on the DL and is on the verge of being replaced for good at the hot corner by Will Middlebrooks.

The Boston Red Sox would probably have a very difficult time moving Youkilis if that was the direction they decided to go because of that high contract. It is rather unfortunate that the Greek God of Walks seems especially mortal this season.

Shortstop: Jose Reyes, Miami Marlins

2012 Stat Line: .256, 0 HR, 5 RBI, 8 SB

2012 Salary: $10,000,000

Jose Reyes was brought to the Miami Marlins to be a table setter. However, he is not getting on base nearly enough to justify his high salary for 2012.

I realize that in terms of this list, $10,000,000 isn't really that high, but the fact of the matter is that Reyes needs to do a lot more if the Miami Marlins wanted to jump-start their offense and build on some of the excitement that accompanied their overhaul this winter.

Outfielder: Torii Hunter, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim

2012 Stat Line: .256, 5 HR, 15 RBI, 1 SB

2012 Salary: $18,000,000

Torii Hunter is incredibly consistent at the plate and will probably end this season with around a .280 batting average, 20 home runs, 80 RBI and 15 stolen bases. On top of that, he plays excellent defense and has a strong arm.

However, while that production is definitely very good, he needs to reach that level in order for this $18,000,000 salary to even be nearly worth it.

Even if he does rebound and hit that level by the end of the season, this contract still seems rather high. There are a number of players who post similar statistics but require much less compensation.

Outfielder: Vernon Wells, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim

2012 Stat Line: .223, 4 HR, 8 RBI, 1 SB

2012 Salary: $21,000,000

It may seem as if I am hating on the Los Angeles of Anaheim. However, they did not make this contract with Vernon Wells. Granted, they did trade for him and his massive contract, but I didn't want you to think that I just went down the Angels roster and simply chose them.

Wells has seen his average drop off ever since he left Toronto. Until he can bring that average back to what it once was, his production will be stifled and he won't be able to live up to his contract.

Outfielder: Alfonso Soriano, Chicago Cubs

2012 Stat Line: .250, 0 HR, 15 RBI, 1 SB

2012 Salary: $18,000,000

Alfonso Soriano burst onto the scene as a young second baseman with an intriguing combination of power and speed. However, his lack of power this season is definitely troubling. He has never hit for a high average, but without his power production, his value is greatly diminished.

If he is able to regain even some of his extra-base power (he only has five extra-base hits, all doubles, on the season), he will at least be able to provide some of the benefit that he has been known for throughout his career.

Designated Hitter: Travis Hafner, Cleveland Indians

2012 Stat Line: .257, 4 HR, 15 RBI, 0 SB

2012 Salary: $13,000,000

Travis Hafner had been a fixture in the Cleveland Indians lineup for quite some time now, but his power numbers have dropped off in recent years. Some of this has been due to missing time from injuries, but his average is also suffering this season.

Hafner is a respectable piece for any lineup, but at such a high price tag, he needs to perform even better than he has been so far.

Starting Pitcher: AJ Burnett, Pittsburgh Pirates

2012 Stat Line: 1-2, 6.08 ERA, 27 K, 1.437 WHIP

2012 Salary: $16,500,000

AJ Burnett had a difficult time with the New York Yankees by and large, so the Pittsburgh Pirates were obviously hoping that a change of scenery would help his performance.

To their credit, the Yankees are paying a substantial portion of his salary this season, but that salary is much too high for his output so far in 2012.

Starting Pitcher: Tim Lincecum, San Francisco Giants

2012 Stat Line: 2-3, 5.89 ERA, 41 K, 1.582 WHIP

2012 Salary: $18,000,000

Tim Lincecum has been one of the best pitchers in baseball since he made his debut in 2008. He picked up a pair of Cy Young awards and has been named to the past four All-Star games.

This season, it has been a little bit different for this superstar. It is only a matter of time before he turns it around, but given his performance so far, he has not lived up to the high expectations that he always faces.

Starting Pitcher: Josh Beckett, Boston Red Sox

2012 Stat Line: 2-4, 5.97 ERA, 26 K, 1.385 WHIP

2012 Salary: $15,750,000

Josh Beckett was expected to help guide the Boston Red Sox into the postseason again. Neither of those plans seem to be working out so well.

Beckett has had some excellent seasons in Boston, but he and the Red Sox need to start bringing about some positive changes so that they can climb back into the division before the gap gets too great.

Starting Pitcher: Dan Haren, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim

2012 Stat Line: 1-3, 4.19 ERA, 35 K, 1.326 WHIP

2012 Salary: $12,750,000

Dan Haren was supposed to be part of one of the best pitching rotations in baseball this season. He isn't doing especially poorly, but he still seems to be the weakest link in a very dynamic rotation.

The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim have not lived up to expectations so far this season, but if Haren is able to get back into the swing of things, he could be a major help the rest of the way.

Starting Pitcher: Josh Johnson, Miami Marlins

2012 Stat Line: 0-3, 5.87 ERA, 32 K, 1.696 WHIP

2012 Salary: $13,750,000

2012 was supposed to be the year that Josh Johnson put everything together. He has shown flashes of brilliance throughout his injury-riddled career, and this was supposed to be the season he was finally able to establish himself as one of the best pitchers in baseball.

That hasn't happened so far, but he still has the potential to become great.

Closer: Heath Bell, Miami Marlins

2012 Stat Line: 1-3, 9.28 ERA, 8 K, 2.438 WHIP

2012 Salary: $9,000,000

Heath Bell was supposed to help the Miami Marlins become a new and exciting team. However, he has had difficulties finishing out games, and consequently, the Marlins have lost some tight games at the end.

Bell has been a solid closer for a while now, and there is no reason to believe that he will stay this bad for a very long time.

The Grand Total

If all of these players played on one team, the combined payroll would come out to $225,750,000.

However, as shown by all of these slides, you probably wouldn't have much of a return on your investment so far this season.

They have plenty of time to turn around this season, but for now, these men constitute baseball's 2012 All-Overpaid Team.

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