Buster Spork reporting for duty. The 2025 has been full of surprises. There are so many teams still in contention thanks to great seasons from some of the biggest stars in the league, along with many young up-and-comers making names for themselves. In fact, there's almost too many good things to focus on that it'd make for a boring article...plus it's not the Buster Spork way. Let's focus on the failures! Let's look at the players who were once expected to bring tremendous value to a team, so much so that their owners spent a big chunk of change to get them on their roster only to see that player go down in flames. That's right, today we're looking at the five worst contracts in the WPBL.
5. Armando Serrano - Serrano was one of the most sought after pitchers of last year's free agents. Coming off back-to-back All Star appearances and a successful four years in Warrenton, he was looking to get paid. Walla Walla was seeking to make a move that would strengthen their starting rotation and Serrano seemed like the perfect fit. The Wallabies signed Serrano to a one-year deal at 456k, making him the 6th highest paid pitcher in the league and 15th highest paid player overall. Unfortunately, this season has not gone as planned for either side. Serrano currently has a 2-8 record, a 6.16 ERA, and a -0.3 WAR. The only positive one can find here is that it's a 1 year deal so Walla Walla is off the hook at season's end. Just recently Serrano announced his retirement, seemingly aware that no one is going to be looking to sign him to any contract that's worth a damn after this abysmal season.
4. Omar Garza - No list of blunders is complete without Tri-City making an appearance. In one of the more comical contracts in the league, the Atoms are paying Old Man Garza 364k this year for a .196 average and a -1.2 WAR. At 41 years of age, one wouldn't really expect too much more. Remarkably, this could have been worse for Kennewick. In 2023 Garza was getting paid 652k a year and heading into a player option. Shockingly he opted out to test free agency. This was the perfect time to cut ties, but owner Konrad Moverlock made it clear that he feels players only get better with age. He made Garza the second highest paid player on the team heading into his 40th and 41st years. Again, the only reason he isn't any higher on the list is because his contract ends this year, but knowing the futility of the Atoms front office we could see another 2-3 year extension coming here soon.
3. Ruben Morales - Current owner Seth B would be quick to point out that the Morales contract is not his doing and just a bloated contract that he inherited. He's not wrong, but that's not going to stop him from making the list. After a phenomenal 2021 season in the WPBL's first year, he opted into free agency. He was highly sought after in the early days of the league when no one was quite sure how to spend their money yet. He signed with CCK who was an expansion team that year and looking to make a splash. Morales signed an 8-year contract worth 4,680,000. At that time it was one of the biggest contracts in the league and even now he's still the 9th highest paid player overall. For all that money Morales is currently batting .244 with a -0.4 WAR this year. He's had one all-star apperance in the 4 years since signing his contract. The good news: the contract was front-loaded and CCK has moved past the first 3 years that were paying him 640k a year. The bad news: He's still signed through 2029 if Ruben decides not to opt out of his last 2 years.
2. Chris Flores - The story of Chris Flores is both inspirational and tragic, depending on whose perspective you choose to look at it from. Flores started the inaugural season with Walla Walla and produced 2 very mediocre seasons. He entered free agency in 2023 after the Wallabies chose to cut ties. Absolutely no one showed interest in him that offseason and his future appeared grim. Rumor had it that he reached out to his former manager at Autozone about if he could get back his old morning shift. A miracle for Flores occurred when an early injury to Alejandro Sanchez led to them signing Flores out of desperation 6 games into the season to add some depth. The rest is history. Flores had a .298 average, 59 RBIs, and a 1.6 WAR as he showed consisent success throughout the season. Pocatello was not convinced and decided move on from him in the offseason. The Warrenton owner at the time, Scott P, fell in love. At the age of 30 he was signed to a 6 year, 2,690,000 contract averaging 450k a year. This made him the 16th highest paid player in league, but his stats so far have been ridiculously off from that. Last year he averaged .226 at the plate with a -0.7 WAR. This year he's .209 with a -0.2 WAR. With 4 more years on his contract and seemingly not many bright days ahead, this is a tough contract for new Warrenton owner Parm to stomach.
1. Josh Richardson - There is a trend here: New owners inheriting tough contracts. This is the toughest of them all. Richardson lit up the leage for Astoria in 2021, making the All-Star game and getting the Platinum Stick amidst a very successful debut campaign. Following that season, former GM KadeO wanted to lock him in as the face of the franchise for the next decade. He signed a 10 year contract at 5,904,000. Richardson hasn't been terrible during this time, but he also hasn't been the superstar that Astoria hoped he would be for that price tag. Batting at .293 with an average WAR of 1.5 for his career so far is solid but he's been trending down as each season progresses. This year he's hitting .240 with a -0.3 WAR. The biggest problem here is his downward trajectory and that he's signed through the 2031 season which is a long way's away. This is not what you hope for from the 6th highest paid player in the league. The good news for Astoria is that they've been able to work around this contract and still build up an extremely strong base of prospects and draft picks, so the future remains bright despite this dilemma.There you have it, your long overdue dose of Buster Spork negativity. Good luck to all teams that are competing for the playoffs here on the home stretch.
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