{"id":22224,"date":"2024-12-30T10:16:36","date_gmt":"2024-12-30T10:16:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=22224"},"modified":"2024-12-30T10:16:36","modified_gmt":"2024-12-30T10:16:36","slug":"reveals-5-richest-contracts-ever-handed-out-by-the-baltimore-orioles","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=22224","title":{"rendered":"REVEALS!! 5 richest contracts ever handed out by the Baltimore Orioles"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Houston<\/p>\n

\n

The Baltimore Orioles have never been known for their spending.\u00a0They had the lowest payroll\u00a0<\/a>in baseball for three straight seasons from 2020 to 2022,\u00a0they have cracked the top ten payrolls\u00a0<\/a>just once since 2011, and their current $109M payroll sits at 22nd in baseball and is just a third of the $300M payrolls of the Mets and Yankees.<\/p>\n

Given their consistently low spending, what do “big” contracts look like in Orioles history? Here are the five largest Oriole contracts to date, based on total value.<\/p>\n

Chris Davis: 7 years, $161 Million in 2016<\/h2>\n

Chris Davis\u00a0is the only Oriole to receive more than $100M in franchise history. Unfortunately for the O’s, this contract completely fell apart \u2014 and then some. The 6’4” first basemen put together a solid 2016 with 38 home runs and 84 RBIs. However, his AVG dipped more than 40 points and his OPS more than 100 points from 2015 to 2016.<\/p>\n

After 2016, he did not exceed 30 home runs, 70 RBIs, .200 AVG, or .750 OPS in any of the remaining years of his contract. Moreover, he played just 16 games in 2020\u00a0due to a knee injury\u00a0and did not play another game for the O’s\u00a0due to later hip issues.<\/p>\n

In total, he played 535 games, not even 50% of the 1,134 games that took place throughout his 7 year contract.<\/p>\n

For the cherry on top, the O’s will be\u00a0paying Chris Davis his deferred contract money on every July 1 through 2037. When he receives his final payment, he will be 51 years old. Call him the Baltimore Bobby Bonilla.<\/p>\n

Adam Jones: 6 years, $85.5 Million in 2012<\/h2>\n

The O’s had more luck with CF\u00a0Adam Jones, who they extended during the 2012 season. He won Gold Gloves in 2013 and 2014, he was named an All Star in three consecutive seasons, and he averaged more than 26 home runs, 84 RBIs, and a .773 OPS across the six years in his extension.<\/p>\n

The only weak spot on Jones’ record is his playoff performance. Across the 2012, 2014, and 2016 playoffs, Jones went 9-58 (.155 AVG) with just one extra-base hit, 4 RBIs, and a .413 OPS. Jones didn’t have much of a sample to work with but he did struggle in the few postseason opportunities he was given.<\/p>\n

Miguel Tejada: 6 years, $72 Million in 2003<\/h2>\n

Miguel Tejada was another solid contract in O’s history. He was named an All-Star in three of the four seasons he played with the O’s and consistently batted above .300, exceeded an .800 OPS, and drove in more than 80 runs. The shortstop even finished fifth in the 2004 AL MVP voting after his monstrous 34 home run, 150 RBI campaign.<\/p>\n

Tejada also played every game for the Orioles between 2004 and 2006, extending his consecutive games streak to 1,152. He eventually\u00a0missed time in 2007 due to a HBP\u00a0but his impressive streak slots in at\u00a0fifth longest in baseball history.<\/p>\n

What hurts Tejada’s baseball legacy is his connection to steroids. Tejada was not only\u00a0suspended in 2013 for his own steroid use\u00a0but also\u00a0lied about his knowledge of other players\u00a0using steroids in 2005.<\/p>\n

Regardless, Tejada was a solid pickup when all was said and done.<\/p>\n

Nick Markakis: 6 years, $66.1 Million in 2009<\/h2>\n

Similar to Adam Jones’ extension, the O’s extended homegrown right fielder Nick Markakis in 2009 and it paid off well. He put together six largely healthy seasons for the O’s, collecting two Gold Gloves, cracking 100 RBIs in 2009, and maintaining a healthy .286 AVG throughout.<\/p>\n

His 1,547 hits impressively put him at\u00a0eighth in franchise history.\u00a0His 2,318 total bases also slots in at ninth and his 316 doubles slots in at seventh.<\/p>\n

Finally, his career .994 field percentage is tied for\u00a014th best among all outfielders in MLB history. He was as dependable as anyone out there and was a great extension for the Orioles.<\/p>\n

Albert Belle: 5 years, $65 Million in 1998<\/h2>\n

The Orioles signed 5-time All Star outfielder Albert Belle in 1998. He put together a phenomenal 1999, batting .297 with 37 HR, 117 RBIs, and a .941 OPS. He took a slight step back in 2000 with a .281 AVG, 23 HR, 103 RBIs, and a .817 OPS but was still a weapon in their lineup.<\/p>\n

After the 2000 season, disaster struck:\u00a0due to a degenerative hip condition, 34-year-old Belle would not be able to play baseball again. The Orioles still owed him $27M through three years so Belle would not even make it through half of his expected Orioles tenure.<\/p>\n

Altogether, the Orioles have won some contracts and lost others. The Chris Davis and Albert Belle signings flopped due to injuries \u2014 interestingly, both hip injuries. Sandwiched in between these two failed contracts were three solid players in Tejada, Markakis, and Jones.<\/p>\n

Finally, what is almost unfathomable is that Albert Belle’s $65M contract in 1998 is still among their top five contracts ever. To put that into perspective,\u00a0there are 94 current contracts worth more than $65M, none of which are the Orioles. Their top contract is outfielder\u00a0Tyler O’Neill at $49.5M.<\/p>\n

All of this is to say the Orioles are due for a shopping spree. Whether that is adding Burnes or Alonso or signing Gunnar or Adley, it is time to start spending in Baltimore one way or another.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Baltimore Orioles have never been known for their spending.\u00a0They had the lowest payroll\u00a0in baseball for three straight seasons from 2020 to 2022,\u00a0they have cracked the top… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":22225,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-22224","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mlb"],"yoast_head":"\nREVEALS!! 5 richest contracts ever handed out by the Baltimore Orioles - NEWS USA<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=22224\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"REVEALS!! 5 richest contracts ever handed out by the Baltimore Orioles - NEWS USA\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The Baltimore Orioles have never been known for their spending.\u00a0They had the lowest payroll\u00a0in baseball for three straight seasons from 2020 to 2022,\u00a0they have cracked the top...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=22224\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"NEWS USA\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2024-12-30T10:16:36+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/2-49.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"760\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"760\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"MsThao\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"MsThao\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=22224\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=22224\",\"name\":\"REVEALS!! 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