Worst Contracts in Atlanta Braves History

After Jurickson Profar's second suspension in as many years, let's take a look at some of the worst contracts in Braves history.

I can’t believe we are here yet again. Not even 365 days removed from being suspended 82 games for performance-enhancing drugs, Jurickson Profar is now facing an 162 game suspension of the entire 2026 season for the same thing.

Clearly, we do not want to harp on this negativity. Braves fans have had enough negative news to fill an entire decade over the last two seasons. The one thing we did not expect, however, was this news that broke on Tuesday.

But since we are here, let’s have a little fun with it. Smiling through the pain, if you will. Join me as I look back at some of the worst contracts signed in franchise history.

Jurickson Profar - 3 years, $42,000,000

I am going to take us through the deals in chronological order, which inevitably brings us to a fresh wound.

Despite a quiet and disappointing offseason following an early postseason exit, I was a fan of the free-agent acquisition of Jurickson Profar prior to the 2025 season. He had the tools to lengthen the Braves’ lineup, and his swing adjustments made in 2024 seemed to be real (spoiler: they may not have).

The former top prospect had a really up-and-down career prior to Atlanta, one that many did not expect during his prospect years. Profar bounced around organizations until finally sticking in San Diego. In 2024, he signed a one-year deal to stay a Padre and finally broke out on his way to an All-Star selection and winning a Silver Slugger award.

He signed a three-year, $42 million deal with Atlanta and seemed to be a perfect fit in the lineup. However, as we know, just a couple of games into the season, news broke that Jurickson Profar had been popped for PEDs and will serve an 82-game suspension. This angered Braves fans, as the season became increasingly disappointing as it progressed. When he returned from suspension, Profar did give us glimpses that maybe, just maybe, the 2024 output was real and not aided by PEDs.

Well, we may have thought wrong. Profar now faces a season-long suspension for the upcoming season. It’s extremely disappointing and downright frustrating, as many held out hope that the Braves would bounce back from last season. Profar was a major factor in those plans. He would be an everyday player, whether in left field or DH.

However, he alone will not derail the season. It is a blow to the organization, but thankfully, Alex Anthopoulos did make moves to add depth to the offense. If all plays out well, both Sean Murphy and Ha-Seong Kim return by June, giving the lineup the depth they need for the back-half of the season.

Through two seasons, if the suspension stands, Profar will only play in 80 out of a possible 324 games. He has one more season under contract at $15 million. It will be very interesting to see how the organization handles Profar moving forward.

Cole Hamels - 1 year, $18,000,000

This deal isn’t necessarily as bad as the Profar one after sleeping on it. However, if you had hopes that the Braves might receive one vintage Cole Hamels season, it should be classified as one of the worst contracts Atlanta has given out in recent memory.

We all know who Cole Hamels is: Four-time All-Star, four times finishing Top 10 in Cy Young voting, 163-121 record with a career 3.42 ERA and 1.19 WHIP up until his time with the Braves.

Even knowing that he was in the twilight of his career, the Braves signed a 36-year-old Hamels to a one-year, $18 million contract to pitch in the eventually shortened 2020 season. As soon as Spring Training opened up, Hamels suffered a shoulder injury that delayed the start of his season.

Hamels would only provide Atlanta with a total of one start, lasting 3.1 innings and giving up three hits, three runs, one walk, and striking out two as he took the loss to the Baltimore Orioles. That would be the end of his professional career.

The argument for this not being as bad as it seems is not only because it was just a one-year deal, but also for the impact Hamels made behind the scenes with a young pitching staff. Most notably, he helped Max Fried improve into a top-of-the-rotation pitcher. This indirectly assisted the Braves the following season; as we all know, the Braves won the 2021 World Series with Max Fried playing a huge role.

However, I do feel it is necessary to include on such a list, as $18 million for 3.1 innings is still disappointing.

Melvin “B.J.” Upton - 5 years, $75,250,000

For many Braves fans, this is the worst contract in franchise history (at least until Tuesday occurred).

The former second-overall selection in the 2002 MLB Draft and a top-5 prospect in baseball seemed to really begin to live up to his reputation. Across eight seasons with Tampa Bay, Upton slashed .255/.336/.422 with a .758 OPS while hitting 118 home runs and stealing 232 bases.

As Atlanta wanted to give Chipper Jones one last postseason run, they signed Upton to the franchise’s largest free-agent contract ever (we’ll get to who he surpassed later). Teaming up with his brother Justin, the hype for the Braves was real. We all remember the BJ, Justin, and Kate Upton Sports Illustrated cover.

Unfortunately, that may have been the most exciting aspect of his tenure here. In 2013, he slashed a disappointing .184/.268/.289 with a career low .557 OPS. He hit just nine home runs and stole just 12 bags as he accumulated a -0.9 fWAR across 126 games. The following season was better, technically, as he slashed .208/.287/.333 and a .620 OPS while smacking 12 home runs and stealing 20 bags.

The team was clearly in a tailspin in the post-Bobby Cox and Chipper Jones era. In a then-unpopular decision, a fire sale ensued, which saw B.J. Upton and Craig Kimbrel sent to the San Diego Padres for Carlos Quentin, Cameron Maybin, Jordan Paroubeck, Matt Wisler, and the 41st overall pick in the 2015 MLB draft. That pick turned out to be a young prep prospect named Austin Riley.

Upton would play four more seasons after Atlanta, and while he performed better in those years, they did not meet the expectations many had. Dollar for dollar, with the expectations added, Upton could easily be considered the worst contract in franchise history based on production on the field. The good news? We received a franchise third baseman out of the situation.

Bartolo Colón - 1 year, $12,500,000

Realistically, no one-year deals are truly bad. However, similar to Cole Hamels, the return on investment for Atlanta in this acquisition was so bad that it just has to be mentioned.

All baseball fans know and love Colón. His demeanor, his antics, his embracement of his weight, it’s something even rival fans can get behind. Prior to signing a one-year, $12.5 million deal with Atlanta, he had 19 seasons and exactly 500 starts under his belt. He sported a 233-162 career record with a 3.93 ERA and 1.30 WHIP.

Colón came into Atlanta as a four-time All-Star who finished in the top 10 in Cy Young voting, taking home the trophy in 2005. Of course, the 2017 season in Atlanta was the worst of Colón’s career.

Making just 13 starts, he posted a 2-8 record, 8.14 ERA, 1.78 WHIP, and posted -0.2 fWAR. Having seen enough, the Braves designated him for assignment at the end of June.

In the grand scheme, Colón’s deal is not all that bad. It was during a transition period for Atlanta as they were coming close to the end of the rebuild. He was a veteran arm to just eat innings and hopefully share some wisdom with younger pitchers. Clearly, even that wasn’t enough to keep him in Atlanta based on his performance.

Derek Lowe - 4 years, $60,000,000

I told you earlier we would get to the largest free-agent signing in franchise history before B.J. Upton. Enter Derek Lowe.

Lowe had a solid 17-year career, most notably known for his time with the Boston Red Sox, where he made two All-Star teams. He then signed a four-year deal with the Dodgers, where former Braves Greg Maddux spent some time as his teammate. Lowe and Maddux got really close, so naturally, prior to the 2009 season, he signed a four-year, $60 million deal with Maddux’s former club. At the time, this was the largest free agent contract given out in the organization's history.

His tenure did not start out all that bad. Lowe finished 2009 with a 15-10 record, despite a 4.67 ERA and 1.52 WHIP across 34 starts. He then improved upon these numbers the following year, finishing with a 16-12 record, 4.00 ERA, and 1.37 WHIP across 33 starts. Both were respectable, but underwhelming years for what was expected of Lowe.

However, this is where things turned south. In 2011, Derek Lowe yet again started 34 games for the Braves, but finished with an abysmal 9-17 record. His 5.05 ERA was his highest in seven years. Seeing that a now 38-year old Lowe was near the end of his career, the Braves traded him and $10 million to Cleveland for a minor league reliever. Essentially, a salary dump. Lowe would go on to play just two more seasons, making just 21 starts and 47 appearances across three different teams before retirement.

For what it’s worth, Derek Lowe’s early tenure with the Braves may not warrant a “worst contract in franchise history” tagline. He was…fine. But what was expected of the former two-time All-Star was so much more.

Prior to Atlanta: .541 Win Percentage || 3.75 ERA || 1.27 WHIP || 2.34 K/BB

With Atlanta: .506 Win Percentage || 4.57 ERA || 1.46 WHIP || 1.98 K/BB

Like many others on this list, what Atlanta paid for and expected did not match up with the production it received on the field. A big reason for this, in my honest opinion, is paying aging pitchers for what they did in the past rather than what they are projected to do in the future. A pattern that has been corrected more recently.

Kenshin Kawakami - 3 years, $23,000,000

Kenshin Kawakami represents Atlanta’s biggest investment in the Asian international market to date.

Kawakami spent 11 seasons in Japan’s Central League with the Chunichi Dragons. In 1998, he was named Rookie of the Year as he posted a 14–6 record and a 2.57 ERA. Over his seasons in Japan, he threw a no-hitter, won the Central League twice, won the Japan Series, won Central League MVP, and received the Eiji Sawamura Award as Japan’s best pitcher.

He signed with Atlanta for a three-year, $23 million deal. However, his first season did not go quite as planned, posting a 7-12 record in 32 appearances, a 3.86 ERA, and a 1.343 WHIP.

The second season of Kawakami’s deal went even worse. He posted a 1-10 record in just 18 games, 5.15 ERA, and 1.489 WHIP. He was outrighted to Double-A.

In the final year of his deal, he spent the entire season in the minor leagues, mainly Double-A. Following the completion of his deal, he returned to the Chunichi Dragons.

The numbers speak for themselves. Kawakami had a decent amount of hype coming into his first MLB season, but failed to produce in Atlanta. We have yet to see the Braves seriously dabble in the Asian international market ever since.

Bruce Sutter - 6 years, $9,600,000

This deal is a very interesting one to look at. Back in 1984, the Atlanta Braves signed closer Bruce Sutter to one of their only deals involving deferrals to my knowledge.

Sutter was paid $4.8 million, with another $4.8 million deferred at a 13% interest rate, payable over 30 years. This ended up being a great deal for Sutter, as he had roughly $1.12 million deposited into his bank account every year from 1991 until 2021 from the Atlanta Braves. In 2022, the final $9.1 million lump sum was paid out, the year he unfortunately passed away. For Atlanta, however, this turned out to be a regret.

Prior to coming to Atlanta, Sutter was a six-time All-Star with the Cubs and Cardinals who recorded 260 saves to a 2.54 ERA and 1.10 WHIP across nine seasons.

In 1985, Sutter recorded 23 saves for the Braves with a 4.48 ERA and 1.36 WHIP, well above his career norms. After postseason shoulder surgery, Sutter returned in 1986 to only appear in 16 games and record 3 saves before hitting the disabled list in May. He would not return for the rest of the season, and in fact, after requiring another shoulder surgery in the offseason, he would miss the entire 1987 season as well. He would return in 1989 to appear in 38 games, recording 14 saves, in what ended up being the final season of his career.

In all, Sutter’s stat line for Atlanta was underwhelming:

112 G || 40 SV || 4.55 ERA || 4.05 FIP || 1.35 WHIP

For a six-year contract, to only give the Braves just under 12% of possible games played is a disappointment. In those 112 games, to give the Braves a career-worst stat line across the board is a disappointment. Having to pay roughly $43 million to Sutter after his retirement is a disappointment as well.