Andrew Benintendi and Eduardo Rodriguez were both huge parts of the Boston Red Sox’s most recent World Series title in 2018.
The Chicago White Sox outfielder and Arizona Diamondbacks starting pitcher earned the dubious honor on Monday of being named among the worst contracts in baseball, however.
Cody Stavenhagen of The Athletic broke down MLB’s “worst underwater deals” and while Benny and E-Rod’s contracts don’t land inside the top 10, they’re both honorable mentions on the list.
“He hit 20 home runs last year, but he’s done little to justify the biggest contract in White Sox history, a five-year deal he signed before the 2023 season. He’s guaranteed $32.2 million over the next two seasons, but his fWARs over the past three years have been -0.3, -0.1 and 0.2.” Stavenhagen wrote of Benintendi. “After a strong 2023 with the Tigers, Rodriguez has shown little to be enthused about in his two years with the Diamondbacks. Rodriguez has posted ERAs of 5.04 and 5.02, and he’s still guaranteed $40 million over the next two seasons, with an innings-based incentive for 2028.”
The second half of the 2010s were much better days on the diamond for both Benintendi and Rodriguez.
Story continues below advertisement
The former was the seventh overall pick during the 2015 MLB June Amateur Draft and finished as the 2017 AL Rookie of the Year runner-up with the Red Sox. Benintendi finished that season with a still career-high 90 RBIs, as well as 20 home runs, which is tied for his high mark.
He had a career-best 21 stolen bases, along with 16 home runs and 87 RBIs during the 2018 championship season. Benintendi has suited up for the Kansas City Royals (2021-22), New York Yankees (2022) and White Sox (2023-present) since being traded out of Boston in February 2021.
Rodriguez spent the first seven years of his career from 2015-21 with the Red Sox, having his best season in 2019.
Story continues below advertisement
The southpaw went 19-6 with a 3.81 ERA, 1.32 WHIP and career-high 213 strikeouts across 34 starts, finishing sixth in the AL Cy Young voting that season.
Rodriguez missed the entire 2020 pandemic-shortened campaign after being diagnosed with myocarditis and signed with the Detroit Tigers in November 2021.
He then joined the Diamondbacks in December 2023.
Story continues below advertisement