Kansas City Royals: Ten Worst Contracts in Team History

Sixth Worst Contract Ever – Jason Kendall (Royals catcher in 2010)

The Royals’ old contracts weren’t necessarily bad contracts due to the amount of money given out (though that certainly doesn’t help), but more about the fact that the player himself didn’t pan out. Jason Kendall is a perfect example of that for the Royals.

While a great catcher with the Pittsburgh Pirates (where he spent nine years of his career), Kendall was not worth the money that the Royals shelled out to him. Kendall signed with the Royals before the 2010 season. The contract was for two years and was worth six million, which doesn’t sound like a lot, but Kendall barely did anything during his time as a Royal. Most of that was due to injury, but it was still a disappointing signing.

In 2010, Kendall appeared in 118 games and was slashing .256/.318/.297 during that time. Before the regular season was even over with, Kendall had an injury to his rotator cuff and missed the rest of the season. That 2010 season ended up being his last of his career, as he couldn’t play in the entire second year of his contract due to recovering from his injury.

Six million dollars might not seem like a whole lot of money, but Kendall couldn’t stay healthy, which was unfortunate for the Royals. His contract sits as the sixth worst in franchise history.