Kansas City Royals: Ten Worst Contracts in Team History

What are some of the worst contracts in Kansas City Royals history?

The Kansas City Royals have had some bad luck when it comes to signing guys to their ball club. Whether it was a large deal and the player simply didn’t live up to the hype or maybe it wasn’t a ridiculous deal for a lucrative amount of money, but the player barely played. Whatever the case may be, I’ve compiled the worst deals in Royals history.

A lot of these players might not necessarily have signed for what seems like a lot of money now, but in the day, it was quite the contract, and the Royals ended up on the short side of the stick.

So, who have had the worst contracts in Kansas City Royals history? Let’s take a look.

EDITOR’S NOTE – This article was originally published in June 2016, right after Omar Infante was released from the Royals organization. Please keep this in mind.

Honorable Mention – Benito Santiago (Royals catcher in 2003)

The Kansas City Royals were ready to contend after their winning season in 2003, and that resulted in them going after more free agents than usual.

They decided to bring on 39-year old Benito Santiago for the 2004 season, who they ended up signing to a deal worth over two million dollars. While that’s not a big contract by any means, Santiago only ended up appearing in 49 games.

While he was slashing .274/.312/.434 throughout his 49 games, he had less than 200 at bats and was linked to taking PEDs during the 2003 season. Santiago was hit by a pitch during the 2004 season and broke his hand, which is what sidelined him for a large part of the season.

Santiago was traded after the 2004 season to the Pirates, where he played in even less games and was out of the majors after the 2005 season. He had a long career, but his time spent with the Kansas City Royals was not a favorable one and he comes in at number ten on this list.