Worst Free Agent Contracts in Pittsburgh Pirates History

#13 Joe Randa, 1-year $4 million

Before the 2006 season, the Pittsburgh Pirates struck a deal with veteran third baseman Joe Randa. Randa was brought in on a 1-year deal for his age-36 season. This deal made really no sense for the Pirates at the time. The expectations were relatively low at this point, with general manager Dave Littlefield having one foot out the door.

Randa played in 89 games and had 324 at-bats in the 2006 season. He recorded 81 hits, including 16 doubles, 1 triple, and 8 home runs. He had a batting average of .251, an on-base percentage of .299, and a slugging percentage of .392. Randa drove in 42 runs and scored 33 runs himself. walked 20 times and struck out 39 times. Defensively, Randa made 8 errors in 84 games at third base, finishing with a .955 fielding percentage.

Overall, Randa's 2006 season was decent, but not one of his best. He provided some power with his eight home runs and was a reliable defender at third base, but his batting average and on-base percentage were below his career averages. The team also paid him a nice chunk of change at $4 million and was not able to trade him for anything at the Deadline. Overall, a pretty pointless signing and use of money. While those two things are true, Randa was not a terrible pickup, just meaningless.