Contract Killers

Apparently the first entry on Ruben Amaro Jr.'s off-season to-do list was Throw gobs of money at a closer. Last week the Phillies' G.M. was reportedly close to giving incumbent stopper Ryan Madson a four-year, $44 million contract, which would have been the fifth-largest deal ever for a reliever. But by the weekend Amaro moved on to bigger things, signing free agent Jonathan Papelbon away from the Red Sox for four years and $50 million—the most lucrative reliever contract ever. History suggests that spending big, in years and cash, on free-agent closers is a mistake. Here's how the five biggest pre-Papelbon closer deals have panned out; in terms of WAR (wins above replacement, 3.0 being a solid figure for a closer), teams have generally gotten less bang for their bucks as the years have gone by. (WAR data from baseball-reference.com.)

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