Every MLB Team's Worst Bang-For-Your-Buck Player in 2025
Not all MLB players live up to their salary.
Whether it's a high-priced free-agent signing falling short of expectations, an arbitration-eligible player failing to match his previous success or a small-market team not getting maximum value out of one of its highest-paid players, every MLB payroll has at least one player not earning his keep.
Ahead, we've highlighted each MLB team's worst bang-for-your-buck player in 2025, including a look at what percentage of the team's total payroll their salary accounts for this year.
Since players still get paid while they are on the injured list, an injury was not a free pass to avoid being considered here.
Off we go.
AL East
1 of 6
Baltimore Orioles: OF Tyler O'Neill
Salary: $16.5 million (10.8% of payroll)
The O's inked O'Neill to a three-year, $49.5 million deal last offseason on the heels of a 31-homer campaign with the Red Sox, hoping he could replace Anthony Santander's departing production. O'Neill has played more than 100 games in a season just twice, and his Orioles debut has amounted to 43 games amid a variety of injuries.
Boston Red Sox: SP Walker Buehler
Salary: $19.1 million (9.6% of payroll)
The Red Sox gave Buehler a one-year deal with a mutual option for 2026 hoping he might return to All-Star form another year removed from Tommy John surgery. Instead, he struggled to a 5.45 ERA and 1.56 WHIP in 112.1 innings before he was released on Aug. 29 and scooped up by the Phillies.
New York Yankees: SP Gerrit Cole
Salary: $36 million (12.1% of payroll)
Cole is the eighth-highest paid player in baseball this season, but he has spent all of 2025 watching from the sidelines while recovering from Tommy John surgery in March. Marcus Stroman ($18 million) and DJ LeMahieu ($15 million) would have been the pick for almost any other team after both were released.
Tampa Bay Rays: SS Ha Seong-Kim
Salary: $11.1 million (13.0% of payroll)
Kim was the highest-paid player on the Rays roster this season, and he played just 24 games with the team before he was surprisingly claimed off waivers by the Braves earlier this week. With a $16 million player option for 2026 that is likely to be exercised, the Rays no doubt welcomed getting him off the books.
Toronto Blue Jays: RP Chad Green
Salary: $10.5 million (4.1% of payroll)
The obvious answer here is Anthony Santander after he signed a five-year, $92.5 million deal during the offseason, but with deferred money and backloading, he actually only earned $9.1 million in 2025. Green was paid slightly more to post a 5.56 ERA and 1.47 WHIP in 45 games before he was released on Aug. 3.
AL Central
2 of 6
Chicago White Sox: OF Andrew Benintendi
Salary: $17.1 million (22.2% of payroll)
Benintendi and Luis Robert Jr. ($15 million) account for roughly 41.6 percent of the White Sox entire payroll, and both underperformed this year to the point that one of them is the obvious choice for the South Siders. Benintendi still has two years and $32.2 million left on his contract after this year.
Cleveland Guardians: OF Lane Thomas
Salary: $7.8 million (8.0% of payroll)
Thomas was a revelation during a 28-homer, 20-steal, 3.3-WAR season in 2023, but he did not match that level of production after joining the Guardians at the trade deadline last year. It was a surprise when he was tendered a $7.8 million contract for his final year of arbitration, and he has logged minus-0.6 WAR in 39 games while navigating multiple injuries.
Detroit Tigers: SP Alex Cobb
Salary: $15 million (9.6% of payroll)
Cobb made three starts down the stretch for the Guardians last year after spending the rest of the season on the injured list, then he started Game 3 of the ALDS and Game 1 of the ALCS in October. The Tigers gave him a one-year, $15 million deal to fill out the back of the rotation, and a hip injury has sidelined him since spring training.
Kansas City Royals: OF Hunter Renfroe
Salary: $7.6 million (5.6% of payroll)
It looked like a potential steal when the Royals inked perennial 30-homer threat Renfroe to a two-year, $13 million deal, but he struggled to an 83 OPS+ and minus-1.5 WAR in 155 games with the team before he was released on May 28. The 33-year-old has not caught on with another team since being cut loose.
Minnesota Twins: SS Carlos Correa
Salary: $27.6 million (21.9% of payroll)
A tip of the cap to the Twins for offloading $71 million of the $104 million still owed to Correa when he was sent back to the Astros at the trade deadline. The three-time All-Star had a 94 OPS+ and 0.2 WAR in 93 games at the time of the trade, and now the budget-conscious Twins have some welcome financial flexibility as they start a rebuild.
AL West
3 of 6
Athletics: RP José Leclerc
Salary: $10 million (12.8% of payroll)
Only Luis Severino ($15 million) and Jeffrey Springs ($10.5 million) are earning more than Leclerc on the 2025 Athletics after he signed a one-year, $10 million deal during the offseason. He ended up making 10 appearances before suffering a lat strain, and he underwent season-ending shoulder surgery in August.
Houston Astros: SP Lance McCullers Jr.
Salary: $17.7 million (7.7% of payroll)
After missing the entire 2023 and 2024 seasons recovering from forearm surgery, McCullers finally returned to action on May 4. The 31-year-old struggled to a 6.89 ERA in 48.1 innings over 12 starts, and he was moved to the bullpen at the end of August with Luis García back from his own stint on the injured list.
Los Angeles Angels: 3B Anthony Rendon
Salary: $38 million (18.5% of payroll)
It feels redundant at this point to highlight what a disaster Rendon's time with the Angels has been and continues to be, as he will spend the entire 2025 season on the sidelines recovering from hip surgery. Six seasons into his seven-year, $245 million deal, he has logged 3.9 WAR in 257 games.
Seattle Mariners: C/DH Mitch Garver
Salary: $12.5 million (7.8% of payroll)
Garver posted a 138 OPS+ with 19 home runs and 50 RBI for the World Series champion Rangers in 2023, and he parlayed that performance into a two-year, $24 million deal with the Mariners. He has a .187/.293/.342 line and 86 OPS+ in 683 plate appearances in Seattle.
Texas Rangers: DH Joc Pederson
Salary: $18.5 million (8.3% of payroll)
Pederson struggled to a .131/.269/.238 line in 146 plate appearances to open the season before he suffered a fractured right hand on May 24 that ended up costing him two months. He has an .805 OPS with six home runs in 95 plate appearances since returning on July 27, but he has still been a bust overall to kick off a two-year, $37 million deal.
NL East
4 of 6
Atlanta Braves: RP Joe Jiménez
Salary: $9 million (4.1% of payroll)
The Braves don't have an obvious answer for this, despite disappointing seasons from Raisel Iglesias ($16 million) and Marcell Ozuna ($16 million), as well as an injury-shortened year from Chris Sale ($22 million). Instead, the pick is Jiménez, who was one of the best setup relievers in baseball a year ago but has missed all of 2025 recovering from knee surgery.
Miami Marlins: SP Sandy Alcantara
Salary: $17.3 million (25.9% of payroll)
Expected to be on the move at the trade deadline, Alcantara struggled to a 6.36 ERA in 109 innings over his first 21 starts and ended up staying put amid the Marlins ongoing rebuild. He has a 1.67 ERA and 29 strikeouts in 27 innings over his last four starts, and a strong finish could drive some renewed trade interest during the offseason as he gets further removed from Tommy John surgery.
New York Mets: SP Frankie Montas
Salary: $17 million (5.0% of payroll)
Montas somehow turned a 4.84 ERA and 1.37 WHIP in 150.2 innings last season into a one-year, $17 million deal from the Mets in free agency. A lat strain sidelined him until June 24, he was moved to the bullpen after posting a 6.68 ERA in 33.2 innings over seven starts, and a right elbow injury ended his season in late August.
Philadelphia Phillies: SP Aaron Nola
Salary: $24.6 million (8.5% of payroll)
One of the most surprising names on this list, Nola had been as durable and reliable as it gets for the better part of a decade, proving to be a perennial lock for 30 starts, 180 innings and frontline production. An ankle injury and a stress fracture in his rib cost him roughly half the season, and when he has taken the mound he has struggled to a 6.47 ERA in 64 innings over 12 starts.
Washington Nationals: 1B Nathaniel Lowe
Salary: $10.3 million (9.4% of payroll)
It looked like the Rangers' cost-cutting might be the Nationals' gain when Lowe was acquired for reliever Robert Garcia on the heels of a 122 OPS+ and 2.7 WAR in 140 games last year. Instead, he hit .216/.292/.373 for an 87 OPS+ with minus-0.3 WAR in 119 games, and he was released on Aug. 16.
NL Central
5 of 6
Chicago Cubs: RP Ryan Pressly
Salary: $11 million (5.2% of payroll)
After back-to-back 30-save seasons in 2022 and 2023, Pressly moved into a setup role in favor of Josh Hader last year. The Cubs acquired him during the offseason with the intention of using him as their closer, but early struggles and the emergence of Daniel Palencia moved him down the bullpen ladder, and he was released on Aug. 1 with a 4.35 ERA and 1.52 WHIP in 44 games.
Cincinnati Reds: 3B Jeimer Candelario
Salary: $15 million (12.6% of payroll)
The three-year, $45 million deal Candelario signed prior to the 2024 season looked like a mistake from the start, and he posted a 90 OPS+ and minus-0.7 WAR in 112 games last year. He hit a brutal .113/.198/.213 with 29 strikeouts in 22 games this year before he was released at the end of June, with the Reds eating roughly $22.5 million in the process.
Milwaukee Brewers: 1B Rhys Hoskins
Salary: $18 million (15.9% of payroll)
After posting a lackluster 99 OPS+ with 26 home runs in his first season with the Brewers, Hoskins exercised an $18 million player option during the offseason, making him the second-highest paid player on the team. The 32-year-old was having a better season in 2025 with a 114 OPS+ and 1.1 WAR in 82 games, but he has been sidelined since July 5 with a thumb injury.
Pittsburgh Pirates: SP Andrew Heaney
Salary: $5.3 million (6.4% of payroll)
Heaney looked like a nice buy-low pickup by the Pirates when he was signed to a one-year, $5.3 million deal on Feb. 22. After posting a 1.72 ERA over his first five starts and a 3.33 ERA in 78.1 innings through the middle of June, his production fell off dramatically and he struggled to a 9.21 ERA over his next 12 starts before he was released on Aug. 29.
St. Louis Cardinals: SP Miles Mikolas
Salary: $17.7 million (13.6% of payroll)
It was tempting to go with Nolan Arenado ($21 million) who is a shell of the player he was when he joined the Cardinals, or Erick Fedde ($7.2 million) who went from prized trade pickup to outright released in under a year. Mikolas continues to chew up innings, but they have generally not been good innings, with a 4.89 ERA and 1.34 WHIP in 136.1 frames over 27 starts.
NL West
6 of 6
Arizona Diamondbacks: SP Jordan Montgomery
Salary: $20.5 million (11.6% of payroll)
Montgomery signed a two-year, $47.5 million deal with the D-backs after helping lead the Rangers to a World Series title, but he struggled to a 6.23 ERA in the first season of that deal. After owner Ken Kendrick publicly bashed his performance, he still opted to exercise his player option, only to miss the entire season after undergoing Tommy John surgery in March.
Colorado Rockies: OF Kris Bryant
Salary: $27 million (22.1% of payroll)
Bryant is dealing with lumbar degenerative disc disease, and given the pain he has dealt with related to the issue, it's unclear when he will return to the field. A wide variety of injuries have limited him to 170 total games over the first four seasons of his seven-year, $182 million deal with the Rockies, derailing a career that got off to such a dynamic start.
Los Angeles Dodgers: OF Michael Conforto
Salary: $17 million (4.9% of payroll)
Take your pick between Conforto and utility man Chris Taylor, who both entered the season with identical $17 million salaries. At least the front office ultimately decided to release Taylor, while Conforto has received 418 plate appearances. The 32-year-old has a .189/.297/.328 line and 75 OPS+, making him one of the least productive hitters in baseball.
San Diego Padres: SP Joe Musgrove
Salary: $20 million (9.3% of payroll)
Musgrove underwent Tommy John surgery last October, and has spent the entire 2025 season recovering, which is part of the reason the front office rolled the dice on signing Nick Pivetta during the offseason. The 32-year-old has two years and $40 million remaining on his five-year, $100 million extension.
San Francisco Giants: SP/RP Jordan Hicks
Salary: $5.2 million (3.0% of payroll)
In the second season of a four-year, $44 million deal, Hicks had a 6.47 ERA and 1.54 WHIP in 48.2 innings before he was traded to the Red Sox as part of the Rafael Devers deal. Props to the San Francisco front office for finding a way to dump the final two years and $25 million of that back-loaded deal.
