Ranking Every MLB Player Making Over $25M in 2023
A $25 million salary used to be reserved for only the super-est of superstars in Major League Baseball, but not anymore. Whereas only three players made that much just 10 years ago, now there are 10 times that many in 2023.
Why bring it up? Oh, for no other reason than it's a good excuse to rank all 30 of these players.
Because this is all about the money these 30 players are making this year, it seemed sensible to consider only what they're capable of in the here and now. Track records are all well and good, but they're only so relevant in conjunction with injuries and performance declines that have ramifications for the 2023 season.
Otherwise, the defining question we asked was this: Which player is most worth the money he's making this year?
Now that everyone knows the deal, let's count 'em down three at a time.
30-28: Strasburg, Cabrera, Votto
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30. RHP Stephen Strasburg, Washington Nationals
Contract: 7 Years, $245 Million
2023 Salary (Rank): $35 Million (T-8th)
Some things are just plain sad. Like, for instance, the Nationals responding to Strasburg's heroics in the 2019 playoffs by inking him to a record-setting contract only to get eight starts and minus-0.5 rWAR from him over the next three years. And given the kind of shape his body is in, it seems possible that his last major league pitch has already happened.
29. DH Miguel Cabrera, Detroit Tigers
Contract: 8 Years, $248 Million
2023 Salary (Rank): $32 Million (T-12th)
Cabrera is a two-time MVP and one of only three hitters with 3,000 hits, 500 home runs and 600 doubles, so they might as well get started on his Hall of Fame plaque.
Of course, Cabrera's plaque will just need to skip over the part about his final contract being an abject disaster. To date, the last seven years of it have yielded minus-2.2 rWAR.
28. 1B Joey Votto, Cincinnati Reds
Contract: 10 Years, $225 Million
2023 Salary (Rank): $25 Million (T-27th)
Would the Reds do Votto's contract over again if they could? One would hope, given that he's produced a .406 on-base percentage, 185 home runs and 30.2 rWAR over the life of it. And given that he was still an impact hitter (i.e., 36 homers) as recently as 2021, he may yet have a strong final act in him after he returns from shoulder surgery.
27-25: Sale, Rendon, Bryant
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27. LHP Chris Sale, Boston Red Sox
Contract: 5 Years, $145 Million
2023 Salary (Rank): $27.5 Million (20th)
Sale signed his deal not long after getting the final out for Boston in the 2018 World Series, only to struggle in 2019 and miss all of 2020 and most of 2021 and 2022 with injuries. It's therefore not the biggest surprise that he's been a bust in pitching to an 11.25 ERA thus far in 2023, though he's at least still missing bats with a whiff rate in the 74th percentile.
26. 3B Anthony Rendon, Los Angeles Angels
Contract: 7 Years, $245 Million
2023 Salary (Rank): $38.6 Million (4th)
It's too soon to rule out Rendon's grand comeback after injuries sidelined him for all but 105 games across 2021 and 2022. But so far, 2023 has been a mixed bag. Even setting aside the unforced error that was his confrontation with a fan in Oakland, the erstwhile Nationals hero has only one extra-base hit to go with his .286 average and .421 on-base percentage.
25. RF Kris Bryant, Colorado Rockies
Contract: 7 Years, $182 Million
2023 Salary (Rank): $28 Million (18th)
The good news? Bryant has a .303 average as a Rockie. The bad news? Pretty much everything else. Injuries kept him out of all but 42 games in 2022. And while he's healthy now, the power that made him an All-Star and MVP winner with the Chicago Cubs is nowhere in sight. He has just six home runs as a Rockie, including none at Coors Field.
24-22: Yelich, Stanton, Stroman
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24. LF Christian Yelich, Milwaukee Brewers
Contract: 7 Years, $188.5 Million
2023 Salary (Rank): $26 Million (T-23rd)
This is just one of those contracts that has "oof" written all over it. The Brewers essentially bought high in extending Yelich when he was off back-to-back MVP-caliber seasons, but he's been nothing like that guy in producing 5.0 rWAR in four years since. He at least still makes good contact, sure, but the 32.4 strikeout percentage he's rocking undercuts that a bit.
23. RF/DH Giancarlo Stanton, New York Yankees
Contract: 13 Years, $325 Million
2023 Salary (Rank): $32 Million (T-12th)
Stanton was a well-rounded player in his years with the Miami Marlins, but his Yankees year have seen him battle injuries—including his latest hamstring strain—and devolve into a guy with one redeeming quality: power.
It's a good thing, then, that said power is nearly unrivaled. Only Aaron Judge has Stanton's average exit velocity of 95.1 mph since 2021 beat.
22. RHP Marcus Stroman, Chicago Cubs
Contract: 3 Years, $71 Million
2023 Salary (Rank): $25 Million (T-27th)
Hey, you. Yes. You. Here's a secret: Stroman has become kind of underrated. The 1.00 ERA he has so far this year is indeed a case of him picking up where he left off after a strong finish to 2022. He now boasts a 2.61 ERA over his last 19 starts overall, with the second-most ground-ball outs after only veritable grounder magnet Framber Valdez in that span.
21-19: Darvish, Altuve, Harper
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21. RHP Yu Darvish, San Diego Padres
Contract: 6 Years, $108 Million
2023 Salary (Rank): $25 Million (T-27th)
Given that he's 36, it's hard not to worry at least a little about Darvish's average fastball being down 1.2 mph from last season. But even if he doesn't have his best heat, he clearly still has, well, it. The five-time All-Star has allowed just one run in two of this three starts this season, including in a seven-inning, 12-strikeout performance on Sunday.
20. 2B Jose Altuve, Houston Astros
Contract: 7 Years, $163.5 Million
2023 Salary (Rank): $29 Million (17th)
Altuve isn't going to be back in the Astros lineup until June because of a broken thumb, but that's really the only thing keeping him from a higher ranking here. There probably isn't anyone who underestimates his track record, yet it still feels like he didn't get the credit he deserved for a 2022 season in which he hit .300 with a career-high-tying 160 OPS+.
19. DH/RF Bryce Harper, Philadelphia Phillies
Contract: 13 Years, $330 Million
2023 Salary (Rank): $27.5 Million (19th)
Harper's recovery from Tommy John surgery could keep him out until as late as the All-Star break, but we still feel comfortable putting him over Altuve anyway. His two MVPs trump Altuve's one, after all, and he likewise has him beat in career OPS+, 142 to 128. Just don't make us choose between their postseason track records. They're both legends.
18-16: Verlander, Scherzer, Seager
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18. RHP Justin Verlander, New York Mets
Contract: 2 Years, $86.7 Million
2023 Salary (Rank): $43.3 Million (T-1st)
Three Cy Young Awards? Nine All-Star selections? An MVP? Two World Series rings? And not one, not two but three no-hitters. That's a Hall of Fame resume if there ever was one. But in this case it happens to belong to a 40-year-old who began the year on an injured list with an upper arm strain. Not the end of the world, to be sure, but it did feel inevitable.
17. RHP Max Scherzer, New York Mets
Contract: 3 Years, $130 Million
2023 Salary (Rank): $43.3 Million (T-1st)
Speaking of Mets hurlers with Hall of Fame-worthy resumes, Scherzer is also a three-time Cy Young Award winner with a boatload of other accolades. And unlike Verlander, at least he's pitched this year.
It's therefore a danged inconvenience that Scherzer wasn't looking like himself even before the Mets pushed his next start due to a sore back. His average fastball has been down a mile per hour and he only has 14 strikeouts in 16.1 innings.
16. SS Corey Seager, Texas Rangers
Contract: 10 Years, $325 Million
2023 Salary (Rank): $35.5 Million (7th)
When Seager is healthy, he hits. Full stop. He's a .287 career hitter with a 129 OPS+, and even that pesky thing they used to call "the shift" couldn't keep him down as he set a career high with 33 home runs in 2022. It's therefore too bad that he's been injured a lot in his career, including right now with a hamstring strain that will keep him out a few weeks.
15-13: Semien, Bogaerts, deGrom
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15. 2B Marcus Semien, Texas Rangers
Contract: 7 Years, $175 Million
2023 Salary (Rank): $26 Million (T-23rd)
If there's one reason not to fuss over Semien's somewhat cool start to 2023, it's that this is the same guy with the second-most rWAR of any position player since 2019. If there's another, it's that he also got off to a slow start in 2022 before recovering just fine over his last 127 games. If MLB had a prize for "Most Overlooked Elite Player," he'd be the favorite for it.
14. SS Xander Bogaerts, San Diego Padres
Contract: 11 Years, $280 Million
2023 Salary (Rank): $25.5 Million (26th)
Who's the best offensive shortstop in baseball? Easy. Per his position-high 26.6 offensive WAR since 2018, it's Bogaerts. That's typically been more of a high-floor thing than a high-ceiling thing, but you'd never know that from how the Aruba native has started 2023. He's hitting .354 with four home runs and more walks (8) than strikeouts (7).
13. RHP Jacob deGrom, Texas Rangers
Contract: 5 Years, $185 Million
2023 Salary (Rank): $30 Million (T-15th)
"Wait, deGrom is only earning $30 million this year?" His recent injury history aside, that a thought like this is even possible speaks to how he really is in a class of his own when he pitches. It's there in how he has a 2.11 ERA and seven times as many strikeouts as walks since 2018, during which batters are just 16-for-100 against him when he's hit triple digits.
12-10: Cole, Bregman, Lindor
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12. RHP Gerrit Cole, New York Yankees
Contract: 9 Years, $324 Million
2023 Salary (Rank): $36 Million (6th)
Part of us misses the Gerrit Cole who was allowed to get away with using Spider Tack on the ball. That guy, man. He was something else. But we're also fine with the post-Tack version of Cole, who's coming off setting the Yankees' single-season strikeout record and who now has a 0.95 ERA through four starts in 2023. And he hasn't even had his best fastball yet.
11. 3B Alex Bregman, Houston Astros
Contract: 5 Years, $100 Million
2023 Salary (Rank): $30.5 Million (14th)
Bregman has had his struggles since back-to-back All-Star seasons in 2018 and 2019, the latter of which also saw him battle Mike Trout for the AL MVP. But he's as good as anyone when he's hot, like when he went on a tear through the second half and into the playoffs in 2022. Despite a slow start in which he's hitting just .194, that guy may yet show up in 2023.
10. SS Francisco Lindor, New York Mets
Contract: 10 Years, $341 Million
2023 Salary (Rank): $34.1 Million (10th)
They arguably don't make shortstops more well-rounded than Lindor. He ranks second among his fellow shortstops in rWAR dating back to 2015, a span in which he's collected two each of Gold Gloves and Silver Sluggers. The catch is that his peak years are probably behind him, but the power and ability to play the field are still very much there.
9-7: Correa, Goldschmidt, Freeman
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9. SS Carlos Correa, Minnesota Twins
Contract: 6 Years, $200 Million
2023 Salary (Rank): $33.3 Million (11th)
There's really no wrong choice between Lindor and Correa, but our scales tip ever so slightly for the latter. He does lead Lindor in rWAR since both were rookies in '15, after all, and he likewise topped the rWAR leaderboard for shortstops across 2021 and 2022. This is to say we're not sweating his slow start to 2023...not yet, anyway.
8. 1B Paul Goldschmidt, St. Louis Cardinals
Contract: 5 Years, $130 Million
2023 Salary (Rank): $26 Million (T-23rd)
What's to like about Goldschmidt? Well, he's only the reigning National League MVP and the Senior Circuit's top rWAR producer over the last decade.
Goldschmidt has pretty much picked up where he left off in hitting .322 out of the gate this year, and his underlying metrics suggest it won't be long before he increases his home run total from the one he has so far.
7. 1B Freddie Freeman, Los Angeles Dodgers
Contract: 6 Years, $162 Million
2023 Salary (Rank): $27 Million (22nd)
Goldschmidt or Freeman? Freeman or Goldschmidt? You're getting an elite, MVP-winning first baseman either way, so to that end it doesn't matter. Really the only thing that pushes us toward Freeman is his edge in consistency, as he hasn't finished a year with an OPS+ below 130 since 2012. He's also hitting .302 so far this year even though he's underachieving.
6-4: Turner, Arenado, Betts
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6. SS Trea Turner, Philadelphia Phillies
Contract: 11 Years, $300 Million
2023 Salary (Rank): $27.3 Million (21st)
Turner was already on a heck of a run before 2023, as he spent the last three years batting .316 with 162-game averages of 27 home runs and 31 stolen bases. The move to Citizens Bank Park and the introduction of the bigger bases convinced us (and clearly the Phillies) to buy even more stock in him, and we remain bullish even though he's yet to really heat up.
5. 3B Nolan Arenado, St. Louis Cardinals
Contract: 8 Years, $260 Million
2023 Salary (Rank): $35 Million (T-8th)
Here we have a third baseman who's won 10 straight Gold Gloves and who's also racked up more 30-homer seasons since 2015 than another other player. And even if Goldschmidt won the NL MVP last year, Arenado actually ended up with a slight rWAR edge over his teammate. So unless anyone wants to pick nits, there's just nothing not to like about Arenado.
4. RF Mookie Betts, Los Angeles Dodgers
Contract: 12 Years, $365 Million
2023 Salary (Rank): $25 Million (T-27th)
Betts ranks second among all position players in rWAR dating back to his first full season in the majors in 2015, along the way collecting an MVP, six All-Star nods and two World Series rings. He says he's not happy with the way he's started 2023, but we'd say he's being harsh on himself. A 130 OPS+ and a strong presence on defense don't exactly make for a cold start.
3-1: Trout, Judge, Ohtani
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3. CF Mike Trout, Los Angeles Angels
Contract: 12 Years, $426.5 Million
2023 Salary (Rank): $37.1 Million (5th)
It's Mike Trout. Nobody needs to be sold on Mike Trout, right? Sure, there's the obvious point of concern that he's missed a lot of time with injuries over his last six full seasons, but he's continued to play like the three-time MVP and future Hall of Famer that he is when he's been healthy. Including now, as he's off to a perfectly fine start with a 183 OPS+.
2. RF Aaron Judge, New York Yankees
Contract: 9 Years, $360 Million
2023 Salary (Rank): $40 Million (3rd)
Judge is in this discussion mainly because he picked an opportune time to set an American League record for home runs and win the MVP, but to focus on 2022 is to obscure his big-picture excellence. Despite all the time he missed with injuries between 2018 and 2020, he's still second in rWAR and first in home runs since 2017. That's a transcendental slugger, folks.
1. DH/RHP Shohei Ohtani, Los Angeles Angels
Contract: 1 Year, $30 Million
2023 Salary (Rank): $30 Million (T-15th)
Ohtani had maybe the greatest season ever in 2021, only to turn around and have arguably an even better year in 2022.
Now Ohtani is teasing yet another new high in 2023, where he's batting to a 142 OPS+ and pitching to a 0.47 ERA. He's the best baseball player in the world, much less in his salary range.
Stats courtesy of Baseball Reference, FanGraphs and Baseball Savant.
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