MLB’s New Worst Contract: Ryan Howard Signs $125 Million, 5-Year Extension With Phillies

I don’t have much to add to the conversation regarding Ryan Howard’s contract extension with the Phillies. I don’t have much to add, because it has already been covered so thoroughly, by so many people, people saying the same things and making the same damning criticisms. To be sure, the sabermetric and statistically-inclined corner of the Internet can be prone to groupthink, dogpiling and hyperbole, but it says something when intelligent coverage of the extension has been universally negative.

But I do want to take this opportunity to bring one angle to light. I’ll just get right to it, then. Statistics shown are from 2007 to the present.

“They just paid A-Rod money to Fred McGriff.”

That comparison, from Will Carroll, may perfectly sum-up what the Phillies did on Monday, when they extended Ryan Howard to a five-year, $125 million contract (with a team option for a sixth year).

Howard is currently under contract for $19m in 2010 and $20m in 2011, under terms of his old deal. With this new extension, the Phillies have locked Howard up through his age-36 season. He joins Roy Halladay and Chase Utley as star Phillies with long-term contracts.

One can, of course, question the wisdom of handing so much money to a slugging first baseman. Howard doesn’t contribute much in the field, meaning all of his value is tied up in his bat, and Howard is of the player type that, historically, has exhibited a tendency to decline pretty fast. Similar players like Richie Sexson, Mo Vaughn, and Cecil Fielder all hit the wall seemingly overnight in their low- to mid-30s.