3. Jeromy Burnitz 2006
When PNC Park first opened, fans envisioned a left-handed slugger mashing home runs over the Clemente Wall. For the first few years, they had Brian Giles as that slugger, but following his trade, the team struggled to find that left-handed outfielder. Enter Jeromy Burnitz in 2006. Dave Littlefield gave him $6 million, once again proving Littlefield’s obsession with aging stop-gap players.
Burnitz rewarded Littlefield’s faith in him by hitting .230/.289/.422/.711, with an 81OPS+ and was worth -0.6 WAR. Similar to Barajas, Burnitz’s bat wasn’t the only issue, his outfield defense was dreadful. His RngR was -9.6, his UZR was -7.8, and his UZR/150 was an amazing -17.8.
Similar to his teammate Joe Randa, Burnitz also blocked a young All-Star from receiving playing time as the team opted to play him over Nate McLouth. Thankfully that was rectified during the 2006 season when McLouth won the starting job and the team eventually traded for Xavier Nady to play right field so McLouth could move to center field full time.
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