NEW YORK – The average annual salary for a Major League Baseball player rebounded to $4.4 million on opening day, boosted by a frenzy of free agent signings before and after the 99-day owners’ lockout, according to a study of contracts by The Associated Press.
New York Mets pitcher Max Scherzer set a season record at $43.3 million, topping the mark established last year by Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Trevor Bauer at $38 million. Scherzer earns more than all the current players for the Baltimore Orioles do combined.
The average of $4,414,184 was up 5.9% from $4,167,164 at the start of last season and just below the record of $4,451,508 set in 2017, before the salary slide that angered players during the labor contract that expired last December.
MLB projected opening day payrolls at about $4.5 billion, up almost 10% from the previous high of approximately $4.1 billion.
This year’s average would have been higher had active rosters not been expanded from 26 to 28 players through May 1 after the shortened spring training. Factoring out the added players who are at the $700,000 minimum or close to it, the average would have been a record $4.62 million.
In addition, this year’s final average will be boosted by the new labor contract’s $50 million bonus pool for lower-salaried players not yet eligible for arbitration. Adding that figure and dropping the added 60 players, the average would be $4.68 million.
The average salary declines over the course of a season as higher-paid veterans are released and replaced by lower-salaried players.
The Dodgers top MLB as the team with the highest payroll at nearly $285 million, up from $241 million at the start of last season. The Mets are second at $266 million in their second season under owner Steven Cohen, up from $186 million last year and $154 million in 2019, the last full season under the Katz and Wilpon families.
The New York Yankees are third at just less than $237 million, followed by the Philadelphia Phillies ($224 million) and both the Boston Red Sox and the San Diego Padres ($212 million each).
The Atlanta Braves, the reigning World Series champions, are eighth at $184 million. The Houston Astros, the team they beat in six games to win the title, are 10th at $174 million.
The Oakland Athletics – who traded several stars after the lockout, including first baseman Matt Olson to Atlanta – is last among MLB’s 30 teams at $48 million, down from $83 million on opening day in 2021 and the club’s lowest for a full season since 2008.
Other low payrolls include Baltimore ($58 million), the Cleveland Guardians ($60 million), the Pittsburgh Pirates ($62 million), and the Miami Marlins (just less than $80 million).
The Orioles totaled $38 million for their current players, with just more than $20 million going toward the final season of the seven-year contract of first baseman Chris Davis, who retired after years of injuries and three straight seasons with a batting average below .200.
AP file photo by Ashley Landis / Los Angeles Angels center fielder Mike Trout’s 2022 salary of $37.1 million ranks second among all MLB players.Scherzer was followed at the top of the salary list by Los Angeles Angels outfielder Mike Trout at $37.1 million, Angels third baseman Anthony Rendon at $36.6 million, Yankees pitcher Gerrit Cole at $36 million, Minnesota Twins shortstop Carlos Correa at $35.1 million and Padres third baseman Manny Machado at $34 million.
Thirteen players earn $30 million or more, 48 earn at least $20 million and 133 at least $10 million. More than half the players, 514, earn at least $1 million.
After several years of widening, payroll disparity among players decreased slightly. The 50 highest-paid players are getting 30.3% of salaries, down from 33.4% at the start of last season but still above the 28.6% in 2017. The 100 highest-paid players are receiving 48.9%, down from 52.4% last year but above the 42.5% in 2017.
Of 975 players on opening day active rosters, injured lists, the restricted list and the bereavement list, 461 (47%) had salaries of less than $1 million, up from 46% last year. The minimum was raised from $570,500 to $700,000; 57 earned the minimum and 375 were less than $730,000.
The median salary – the point at which an equal number of players are above and below – rose by $50,000 to $1.2 million, down from $1.4 million in 2019 and well below the $1.65 million record high at the start of 2015.
The AP’s figures include salaries and prorated shares of signing bonuses and other guaranteed income. For some players, parts of deferred money are discounted to reflect current values. For the 23 players remaining eligible for salary arbitration, the midpoints of the player requests and team offers were used.
Luxury tax payrolls computed by MLB are different, using average annual values of contracts on 40-man rosters plus about $18 million per team for benefits and extended benefits and a 1/30 share of the pre-arbitration bonus pool.