Where Aaron Judge’s deal falls among top MLB contracts for 2023 originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston
The World Series ended over a month ago, but things have heated up in Major League Baseball.
Aaron Judge resigned with the New York Yankees on a nine-year megadeal, Trea Turner joined the Philadelphia Phillies on another massive contract and Jacob deGrom is heading to the Texas Rangers.
All three of those players received massive paydays, but where do they stand among the highest-paid players in baseball?
Who are the highest-paid MLB players?
It took a record-setting three-year, $130 million contract to lure Max Scherzer from Hollywood to the Big Apple in 2022, and one of his former teammates joined him this offseason
Justin Verlander signed a two-year, $86,666,666 deal with the New York Mets in December, tying Scherzer for the highest average annual salary in MLB history. Scherzer, whose previous deal had an average annual value of $30 million, blew past Yankees ace Gerrit Cole’s previous record of $36 million with the new $43,333,333 figure. Verlander, the 2022 AL Cy Young Award winner, is now tied atop the list with the same annual payday as Scherzer.
Baseball’s third and final player to earn $40 million a year also resides in New York. Judge inked a nine-year, $360 million deal to stay with the Yankees, putting an end to the biggest free agency sweepstakes of the offseason.
deGrom comes in at No. 4 in average salary at $37 million after joining the Rangers on a five-year, $185 million deal. Cole’s $36 million average salary puts him at No. 5 in the big leagues.
Here’s a full look at the highest-paid MLB players for this season based on average annual salary, according to Spotrac:
T-1. Max Scherzer, New York Mets: $43,333,333
T-1. Justin Verlander, New York Mets: $43,333,333
3. Aaron Judge, New York Yankees: $40 million
4. Jacob deGrom, Texas Rangers: $37 million
5. Gerrit Cole, New York Yankees: $36 million
6. Mike Trout, Los Angeles Angels: $35,541,667
T-7. Stephen Strasburg, Washington Nationals: $35 million
T-7. Anthony Rendon, Los Angeles Angels: $35 million
9. Francisco Lindor, New York Mets: $34.1 million
10. Trevor Bauer, Los Angeles Dodgers: $34 million
T-11. Corey Seager, Texas Rangers: $32.5 million
T-11. Nolan Arenado, St. Louis Cardinals: $32.5 million
13. Miguel Cabrera, Detroit Tigers: $31 million
14. Mookie Betts, Los Angeles Dodgers: $30,416,667
T-15. Shohei Ohtani, Los Angeles Angels: $30 million
T-15. Manny Machado, San Diego Padres: $30 million
17. Chris Sale, Boston Red Sox: $29 million
18. Trea Turner, Philadelphia Phillies: $27,272,727
19. Freddie Freeman, Los Angeles Dodgers: $27 million
20. Christian Yelich, Milwaukee Brewers: $26,928,571
T-21. Paul Goldschmidt, St. Louis Cardinals: $26 million
T-21. Kris Bryant, Colorado Rockies: $26 million
23. Xander Bogaerts, San Diego Padres: $25,454,545
24. Bryce Harper, Philadelphia Phillies: $25,384,615
T-25 Giancarlo Stanton, New York Yankees: $25 million
T-25. Marcus Semien, Texas Rangers: $25 million
T-25. George Springer, Toronto Blue Jays: $25 million