5 worst contracts in modern Los Angeles Dodgers history

4. Jason Schmidt

And Luis Gonzalez, and Mike Lieberthal … the whole press conference, really.

Just look at Jason Schmidt up on that podium. After starring as a San Francisco Giant for five and a half seasons, the Dodgers were extremely ready to pay for his age-34 campaign and the two more that followed, offering the burly change-of-speeds right-hander a three-year, $47 million deal that he accepted with aplomb.

Only one problem: Schmidt forgot to tell the Dodgers he was cooked.

Coming off his final All-Star season in San Fran (11-9, 3.59 ERA in 213.1 innings), Schmidt was all smiles on the day of his introduction, but rarely brought that joy to the mound in the ensuing three years.

In fact, he rarely brought anything to the mound, making just 10 starts combined, all coming in 2007 and 2009, when he rounded out his career with a 5.60 ERA in 17.2 innings pitched. Here’s the kicker: we’d like to say you can’t fault the Dodgers for a deal that ended with a catastrophic injury, but … they knew Schmidt had a severe rotator cuff problem, and they didn’t care!

Now that’s how you end up on a “worst contracts” list, no matter the decade. Add in the Giants keeping the upper hand here, and it’s official.

3. Hector Olivera

As much as we might want to pin the Hector Olivera decision on the Atlanta Braves, where the memory of his disaster has lingered longer, it was the Dodgers who were the ones to win the bidding here, creating one of the largest overpays in the modern game for someone who absolutely did not deserve a fraction of the cash.

Sound familiar?

Los Angeles signed the Cuban defector prior to the 2015 season, adding him on a six-year, $62.5 million deal with a $28 million signing bonus. A precautionary MRI revealed he had a minor UCL tear, so the Dodgers insured against an eventual possible Tommy John surgery; other than that, though, the team believed they’d added a developing power threat in the wake of Yoenis Cespedes’ successful defection.

Just four months later, Olivera was gone, traded to Atlanta in a three-team deal that brought LA a massive bounty including Mat Latos, Michael Morse, Bronson Arroyo, Alex Wood, and several others.

The very next April, Olivera was arrested in Washington, DC over a domestic dispute; he was sentenced to a 90-day prison term and became one of baseball’s highest-profile domestic violence offenders, suspended for 82 games and ultimately jettisoned to San Diego in a salary dump for Matt Kemp, where he was later DFA’d. The Cuban import never played Major League Baseball ever again.

The Dodgers may not have paid off the bulk of this deal, but the responsibility still lies in their court.

2. Andruw Jones

Oh, you mean the contract keeping Andruw Jones out of the Hall of Fame? Of course! That one!

Just two years ago, we would’ve told you this Jones deal was the undefeated National Champion. How could anything top it? Well … sometimes, life gets in the way.

It’s worth dwelling on this contract, though, because it really doesn’t feel like an exaggeration to say the bloated end of Jones’ spectacular career is keeping him out of Cooperstown despite a truly special peak both in the field and at the plate, and the narrative started to shift when he joined the Dodgers — with little to no warning.

Jones’ two-year contract was worth $36.2 million, signed prior to the 2008 season when the center field superstar was just 31 years old. He was coming off his worst career campaign, sure (26 bombs, 94 RBI, .222 average, and just an 87 OPS+), but he was also just one season removed from 41 bombs, 129 RBI and elite defense.

Also, come on! He was 31! 31!! One of the best athletes and power bats in the modern game! Two years and $36.2 million wasn’t just a reasonable bounce back contract. It seemed like one of the clearest steals in the game.

Anyway, Jones showed up out of shape, hit .158 in 75 games with three homers and 14 RBI, and found himself on the Texas Rangers roster by the time the second year of his contract came around, released by the Dodgers at a massive loss in January 2009. It’d be hilarious if it weren’t so cruel.

Eventually, Jones found his power bat again and became a serviceable bench bat who could swing for the fences with the 2010 White Sox and 2011 Yankees (120 and 126 OPS+ marks, respectively) before ending his career on another sour note the with the ’12 Yanks.

That wasn’t Jones, though. Jones wasn’t supposed to be remembered as a paunchy bat who couldn’t run or throw. And the significant dings to his historic reputation began with the worst possible theoretical season in Los Angeles.

1. Trevor Bauer

What more can you say about Trevor Bauer that hasn’t already been said? Ideally, nothing. It would be very pleasurable to not address him whatsoever.

Any time you set a record for obtaining money, then don’t even stick around to complete your first season of obtaining that money, you’ve earned the No. 1 spot on this list and any list that may someday follow it.

Last offseason, the Dodgers triumphantly defeated the Mets in one-on-one combat for Bauer’s hand, coming out on top with a three-year, $102 million deal that included a player option for 2022.

Spoiler alert? That onerous player option has already been picked up, even though there’s little chance of Bauer making it to the mound in LA this year. Facing two criminal accusations of sexual assault, Bauer ducked out of the 2021 season with an 8-5 record and 137 strikeouts in 107.2 innings pitched, and those numbers will likely represent his final line for the franchise.

Whenever a record-setting contract results in a player’s legacy being wiped from the record midway through his first campaign in uniform, that deal should rest comfortably atop any list of this sort. Unless the Dodgers extend the olive branch to OJ Simpson to cap this offseason with a seven-year deal, we can’t foresee them topping the massive mistake.

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