Trevor Bauer's 3-Year, $102M Dodgers Contract, Biggest MLB Deal AAVs Ever

When Trevor Bauer entered free agency, reports quickly surfaced that he was seeking to earn the highest average salary for any pitcher in baseball. 

The Los Angeles Dodgers did him one better when they reportedly inked him to a three-year, $102 million deal: They made him the highest-paid player in baseball.

At least for the next two years. 

Bauer's deal is heavily front-loaded and will see him earn $40 million in 2021 and $45 million in 2022. Should he opt in for his third year, he'll make just $18 million in 2023, according to MLB.com's Mark Feinsand. 

Before Friday, New York Yankees pitcher Gerrit Cole held the highest average annual value contract in baseball at $36 million per year. Los Angeles Angels star Mike Trout was right behind him at $35.5 million AAV. 

In earning $40 million this season, the Dodgers reportedly have agreed to pay Bauer more than the entire current payroll of the Baltimore Orioles ($39.1 million), Pittsburgh Pirates ($37.8 million) and Cleveland ($36.6 million), according to Spotrac. 

Those numbers could still go up as free agency rolls on, but it shows a willingness on a part of the reigning World Series champions to spend far beyond what other teams are comfortable with. ESPN's Jeff Passan noted Bauer's contract puts the Dodgers nearly $30 million over the luxury tax with a 2021 payroll of about $240 million. And L.A. has yet to address a need at third base this offseason. 

Passan reported the New York Mets offered Bauer a contract with a higher overall value, but the chance to become baseball's highest-paid player for the next two years was apparently too much pass up. 

Even if it means he's back on the free-agent market after 2022.