Ah, the All-Star Game, such a source of baseball celebration, of performance that has inspired and impressed.
Enough of that, for a minute. We so often hear that baseball is a game built on failure. We also hear, frequently from players, that baseball is a business. Well, then, let’s spend a little time on the combination of those two as we head into Tuesday night’s mid-summer classic in San Diego.
Here are the least valuable players at each position, with a little contract situation factored in, through the first half of the season. (All stats through Thursday.)
Catcher: Derek Norris, Padres
.214, 11 home runs, 32 RBIs
The former Nationals farmhand, traded to Oakland in the deal that landed Gio Gonzalez, was an all-star for the Athletics in 2014. But he has struggled in his year-and-a-half with the Padres. His average is last in the National League. His on-base percentage (.275) is the fifth-worst in baseball. Though he has thrown out would-be base stealers at precisely the league average (15 of 50, for 30 percent), the advanced metric of runs saved-stolen bases – a measure of how catchers not only throw out runners, but prevent them from even attempting a steal — is a middling 1. (Kansas City’s Salvador Perez is at 5.)
First base: Ryan Howard, Phillies
.158, 12 home runs, 27 RBIs
There is a case to be made here for Washington’s Ryan Zimmerman, who is hitting .221 and making $14 million. But Howard’s struggles in the final year of his five-year, $125-million contract with Philadelphia are rather epic. He has, in essence, been replaced as the starting first baseman by rookie Tommy Joseph. Of the 232 players with at least 200 plate appearances, Howard’s ranks: 231st in average (.158) and OBP (.219) and 225th in on-base-plus-slugging (.581). Indeed, five players have slugging percentages higher than Howard’s OPS. He strikes out more than 30 percent of the time, and is a poor defender.
Second base: Brandon Phillips, Reds
.255, six home runs, 31 RBIs
Phillips got the early lead on this position when he refused a trade to Washington in the offseason, effectively saying he would rather play for the rebuilding Reds — who had already traded off Johnny Cueto and Aroldis Chapman — than for the contending Nationals. The Nats, who went on to sign Daniel Murphy to play second, must be relieved. For the Reds, it stunted their growth. Now, no second baseman has more than Phillips’s 10 errors, and Phillips has a career-low on-base percentage (.293) and walk-rate (3.9 percent), and is playing below replacement level — even though he’s making $13 million, with $14 million to come next year.
Worth noting: Miami’s Dee Gordon, suspended for 80 games for PED use, might actually be a better candidate for this spot.
Third base: Chase Headley, Yankees
.255, seven home runs, 26 RBIs
Remember that Headley’s first extra-base hit came in his 29th game of the season, May 12. Remember that the Yankees are paying him $13 million this year, then $13 million next year, and $13 million in 2018. Keep in mind that New York is burdened by an aging, creaky lineup with more players on the downside of their careers (Alex Rodriguez, Mark Teixeira, Carlos Beltran) than on the rise. All that makes Headley an easy choice, because he is just one symbol of where the Yankees are right now, trying to compete with a flawed and stagnant offense.
Shortstop: Erick Aybar, Braves
.223, one home run, 14 RBIs
Even through the bad times in Atlanta, and there have been many, Braves fans could watch the brilliance of shortstop Andrelton Simmons, a wizard with the glove. But the offseason trade that was part of Atlanta’s rebuilding effort sent Simmons to the Angels — and brought back Aybar, a career .276 hitter with a .694 OPS over 10 years in Anaheim. Where is that player now? The Aybar the Braves got has been horrendous at the plate — his .223 average, .281 slugging percentage and .559 OPS rank last among the 29 shortstops with at least 200 plate appearances. Though he has only seven errors, he measures poorly in the advanced metric of “defensive runs saved,” actually costing the Braves five runs with his fielding.
Outfield: Justin Upton, Tigers; .233, nine home runs, 38 RBIs
Jason Heyward, Cubs; .237, four home runs, 28 RBIs
Jose Bautista, Blue Jays; .230, 12 home runs, 41 RBIs
In some ways, it’s hard to include Heyward on this list because he is such a superb fielder. But the reality is the Cubs signed him to an eight-year, $184-million deal because they expected him to hit, too, and he just hasn’t done it. Manager Joe Maddon finally dropped him from the second spot in the order. It’s amazing to think that his .656 OPS ranks 54th of the 57 outfielders who qualify for the batting title.
Just ahead of him? Upton, who the Tigers have for six years and $132.75 million, but whose .669 OPS is well below the .825 mark he had posted over his career coming into this season. Plus, he’s striking out at a rate of 33.1 percent, second among all outfielders (to Miami’s Giancarlo Stanton, also considered here).
We’ll give the final spot to Bautista, though his OPS is the same as Stanton’s. Bautista had been an all-star for six straight seasons, during which he slugged .555 with a .945 OPS. This year, those numbers have dropped to .455 and .815, respectively.
DH: Prince Fielder, Rangers
.217, eight home runs, 43 RBIs
How scary is this? Fielder makes $24 million this year and every year through 2020 (though the Tigers, who signed him to the original contract, are responsible for $6 million annually). That wasn’t bad during his renaissance 2015, when he became an all-star for the sixth time and hit .305 with an .849 OPS that wasn’t far off his career norm.
But of the 166 players who qualify for the batting title this year, FanGraphs ranks Fielder as the worst player in the game with a WAR of — 1.4.
Starting pitcher: James Shields, White Sox
4-9, 5.68 ERA, 1.644 WHIP
Shields began the season with San Diego, with whom he signed a four-year, $75-million deal prior to 2015. He was bad there, but Chicago — in need of rotation help even after a fast start — was familiar with his workhorse resumé from his time racking up 200-inning seasons with Tampa Bay and Kansas City.
The Sox gambled with the trade. They are losing — and losing badly. In six starts with Chicago, Shields has a staggering 9.23 ERA while allowing an unforgivable 2.203 walks and hits per inning pitched.
Relief pitcher: Trevor Rosenthal, Cardinals
2-3, 5.16 ERA, 14 saves in 17 chances
It’s stunning to see Rosenthal — who had a 2.66 ERA and 1.224 WHIP heading into this season — struggle like this, particularly because his strikeouts per nine innings (12.74) is still fifth in the National League, indicating his stuff is still there. His fastball velocity (97.1 mph on average) is almost where it was last year (97.2 mph). But he has been eminently hittable — a .303 average against that is the second-worst among NL relievers, and a 1.989 WHIP that is second-worst among all relievers in baseball.