Kansas City Royals: Ten Worst Contracts in Team History

Honorable Mention – Juan Gonzalez (Royals outfielder in 2004)

Similar to Benito Santiago, the Royals picked up Juan Gonzalez during the 2003 offseason to try and up their chances at posting a second consecutive winning season. The Royals spent four and a half million dollars on Gonzalez, but that ended up being a pretty big mistake.

Gonzalez might have slashed .276/.326/.441, but he only appeared in 33 games and had less than 130 at bats during his time in a Royals uniform. The guy had back problems during the 2004 season and ended up only appearing in those 33 games before his season was over.

The Royals let Gonzalez hit free agency after that 2004 season and he went on to play for the Indians in 2005 before calling it a career.

Juan Gonzalez had a lengthy career in the majors, but was another name to be linked to steroid use. He only spent a year with the Royals and it being near the end of his career likely doomed any chance of the contract working out well.

Can’t blame the Royals for trying though.