The 10 worst contracts in Colorado Rockies history

The Colorado Rockies are entering their 30th season of playing games in 2022 so while they don’t have as much of a rich history as some franchises that are 50 or even 100+ years old, they still have plenty of history that can be analyzed, for better or for worse.

In their history, they have made a few good free agent signings but they have made more than their fair share of bad free agent signings or contractual obligations. Unfortunately for them, there has been a lot of them in recent years.

In fact, seven of the top 10 worst contracts in Colorado Rockies history have been made in the last seven years.

For these, we considered the amount of money that the Rockies paid for the player, how poorly they played for the team, and some other factors, which will be obvious here in a moment.

Here are the top 10 worst contracts in Colorado Rockies history in no particular order.

Colorado Rockies reliever Bryan Shaw: 3 years, $27 million

Bryan Shaw is another member of the Colorado Rockies “super bullpen” that fell flat and, perhaps, Shaw fell hardest of all.

Shaw signed a three-year deal for $27 million after leading the AL in appearances in three of the previous four seasons with Cleveland. In that span, he had an ERA+ of 141.

But with the Rockies, he had an ERA of 5.61 in 131 games in the two years with Colorado with an ERA+ of 89. Like McGee, the Rockies released him just before the start of the 2020 season, eating the rest of his contract.

Shaw signed with Cleveland again in 2021 and he returned to his former glory as he led the AL in appearances (81) and he had an ERA of 3.49 and an ERA+ of 126.