Is there hope for Wells and Dunn?
History suggests we are seeing the beginning of the end for these two
Last week, we took a look at Alfonso Soriano and the biggest unpleasant financial obligations in baseball. While all the players mentioned are likely overpaid for future performance, two of the players, Vernon Wells and Adam Dunn, have played so poorly that they've actively hindered their team's postseason chances.
Are Wells and Dunn likely to rebound, or are they finished? The ZiPS projection system is optimistic about Dunn rebounding, projecting an .853 OPS the rest of the way -- well off his career totals but welcome to a team essentially playing with a three-man lineup of Paul Konerko, Carlos Quentin and Alexei Ramirez. ZiPS is less excited about Wells, only projecting a .249/.300/.419 line the rest of the way, but that's not all that different from his 2009 season and Angels owner Arte Moreno and GM Tony Reagins were the only two souls on this earth that thought the Angels were acquiring a star outfielder in Wells.
But what if they don't rebound this season? In this worst-case scenario, is there any chance that the White Sox or Angels get anything at all from their sizeable investments?
To read more about the worst single-season drop-offs of all-time and whether there is hope for Vernon Wells and Adam Dunn, you must be an ESPN Insider.
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Dan Szymborski
ESPN Insider- Creator of ZiPS projection system
- Founder of Baseball Think Factory
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