This offseason, Major League Baseball clubs have spent roughly $2.5 billion on free agents and pulled off a handful of big-ticket trades on the side.
Well, as much as we hate to be the bearers of bad vibrations, some of this excitement is inevitably going to result in buyer’s remorse. There will be busts, and we’re here to try to sniff them out ahead of time.
Rather than spill out a random list of busts, though, we’re going to make things interesting by assembling a whole team of them. This all-bust squad will feature a catcher, players from all four infield positions, three outfielders, one starting pitcher and one relief pitcher. That’s a total of 10 players, because round numbers are always good.
In choosing this not-quite-fantasy team, we disregarded guys who were signed to small contracts or involved in largely inconsequential trades. Beyond that, players were chosen by weighing performance and health-related red flags going into 2016. We also had a bit of help from some projection systems.
Now that everyone’s clear on the ground rules, we shall commence this frown-fest behind the dish…