Three years, $14 million for a very bad player. Gonzalez and Jack Wilson are virtually the same player, only Gonzalez has a little more power and Wilson tends to put up somewhat better averages. Gonzalez is actually probably just as good with the glove as Wilson.
If you still think Wilson's $20 million contract was a good idea - well, you probably aren't reading this. But if you are, think about whether this Gonzalez contract is a good idea, then consider that when Wilson got his contract, he was coming off a season strikingly similar to the one Gonzalez just had, except that Gonzalez's slugging percentage was 30 points higher. Also, consider that Gonzalez was a free agent, while Wilson was under the Pirates' control for two more years. Also, consider that Wilson got $6 million more. This Gonzalez contract is a very bad idea, but it's not as bad as Wilson's contract was. Dave Littlefield and Reds GM Wayne Krivsky are going to be racing each other to the bottom for a while, I think.