Grading the 2006 MLB Free Agent Class

Baseball teams are often shortsighted when handing out contracts, as the Miami Marlins may find out in a couple years. They’ll typically overpay for a player for his production in the near future and not worry about what the long-term effects will be for the club.

Ask San Francisco who signed Barry Zito five years ago to a seven-year deal that AVERAGES $18 million per season. In Zito’s case, even his short-term production wasn’t worth it as the lefty led the league in losses his second season as a Giant. Zito’s value to the team became so limited that the former Cy Young Award winner didn’t throw a pitch for them the entire 2010 postseason, when the Giants were crowned World Series Champions.

Not all free agents turn out like Zito, although the way teams blindly hand out these long-term free agent contracts you’d think he was the only case. Looking back at the free agent signings five years ago shows that San Francisco wasn’t the only one that made a big mistake.

Listed below are the biggest deals, in terms of total dollars, that were handed out that fateful offseason:

1. Alfonso Soriano, OF, Chicago (NL): eight years, $136 million: Hitting stats: .266/.320/.498 (average/on-base/slugging), 132 home runs, 367 RBIs, and 54 steals through five seasons. Was it worth it? Not at $17 million per season. Soriano, now 35, wasn’t bad his first two years (making two All-Star teams) but hasn’t hit above .258 since and there is still three years left on his deal … yikes.

2. Barry Zito, SP, San Francisco: seven years, $126 million: Pitching stats: 43-61 record with a 4.55 ERA in 140 starts, while averaging a wild-thing-like 4.1 walks per nine innings in five seasons as a Giant. Was it worth it? No. Even if the 33-year-old came back a changed pitcher in 2012 and won the Cy Young Award it wouldn’t make up for what it has cost the Giants; roughly $90 million so far. In no season in San Francisco’s pitcher-friendly ballpark has his ERA even been below 4.00, while last year he was 3-4 with a 5.87 ERA.

3. Carlos Lee, OF/1B, Houston, six years, $100 million: Hitting stats: .286/338/.486 with 128 home runs and 504 RBIs through five years in Houston. Was it worth it? No. Though Lee has been durable (averaging 150 games per season) his numbers don’t warrant the more than $16 million he makes on an annual basis. Only once (2007) did he garner any MVP votes (finished 19th) or an All-Star selection. He’ll turn 36 this season and hasn’t hit better than .275 since 2009.

4. Aramis Ramirez, 3B, …