15 worst St. Louis Cardinals free agent signings in franchise history

Aug 7, 2017; Kansas City, MO, USA; St. Louis Cardinals center fielder Dexter Fowler (25) is
Aug 7, 2017; Kansas City, MO, USA; St. Louis Cardinals center fielder Dexter Fowler (25) is / Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports
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#15 - Bobby Bonilla: 1 year, $900,000, 2001

Bobby Bonilla is well known for his crazy contract with the New York Mets that pays him $1.2 million per year from 2011-2035. People often forget he was almost the reason Albert Pujols did not make the Opening Day roster in 2001.

After signing a contract that offseason with the Cardinals, Bonilla was set to provide support to the St. Louis lineup in his last big league season. A hamstring injury flared up in Spring Training, causing him to start the year on the DL, and rookie Albert Pujols made the roster in his place.

Bonilla would only appear in 93 games that season, slashing .213/.308/.339 with 5 HR and 21 RBI. The highest salary on the Cardinals that season was Mark McGwire at $11 million, so $900,000 was not a drop in the bucket roster-wise like it is now. But considering it helped begin the Albert Pujols era, we'll leave the contract at number 15 on this list.