Who are MLB's highest-paid players at each position?

First, it was Shohei Ohtani’s record $700 million contract. Then, Juan Soto topped that just one year later with a $765 million deal. Not all MLB contracts are like those two, but not all players are like that pair, either.

Still, there is a ton of money floating around for the very best that the league has to offer, and for all the excitement of (comparatively inexpensive) youth that permeates MLB action each year, the cornerstones of so many teams remain these proven veterans who can keep up with or straight-up surpass that next generation. For a price, of course.

Then again, Soto is still young — he’s still just 26, as is Vladimir Guerrero Jr., whose $500 million extension signed earlier this spring kicks in next year. It’s that combination of youth and talent that nets the most cash in MLB, but as long as there’s plenty of the latter, some teams still manage to find the money for those who are nearing or just over 30, too.

We took a look at the highest-paid players in MLB at each position, according to the average annual value (AAV) of their contracts.

All salary info comes via Spotrac and Baseball Prospectus. 

C: J.T. Realmuto, Philadelphia Phillies ($23.1M AAV)

Catchers who can actually hit are a real rarity in this day and age, which has seen prospective catchers filtered out at a young age for those capable of framing pitches like they’re one of the Molina brothers over any other attribute. Realmuto has had a tough April, but from 2022 through 2024, he hit .264/.325/.455 for a 115 OPS+ — there aren’t many catchers doing that kind of work at the plate anymore, and Realmuto got paid because he’s one of the few who can.

1B: Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Toronto Blue Jays ($28.5M AAV)

Technically, Mets’ first baseman Pete Alonso is being paid more in 2025 than Guerrero Jr. However, he’s on a two-year deal that was frontloaded with a signing bonus, and his $27 million AAV comes up short of Guerrero’s. Guerrero hasn’t even started his $500 million extension, either: that kicks off in 2026, with this season’s salary the result of his final year of arbitration eligibility. Next spring, Guerrero Jr. will sport a $35.7 million AAV.

2B: Marcus Semien, Texas Rangers ($25M AAV)

Semien is in the high point of his seven-year, $175 million deal at the moment, as it pays him $26 million annually from 2023 through 2027. He signed the contract after finishing third in the American League MVP race back in 2021, a year in which he also earned a trip to the All-Star Game and took home both Gold Glove and Silver Slugger awards. He’s had a rough start to the 2025 season, but even in a down 2024 he was still a four-win player by wins above replacement’s reckoning, and that’s more than enough even as the highest-paid player at his position.

SS: Francisco Lindor, New York Mets ($34.1M AAV)

Carlos Correa ($37M in 2025, $33.3M AAV) is making more in 2025, specifically, and Corey Seager ($32M in 2025, $32.5M AAV) is tied with Lindor’s own salary for the year, but the 10-year, $341 million deal the Mets’ shortstop agreed to before the 2022 season has him down as the highest-paid player at the position by average annual value. Lindor’s deal is just complicated by a combination of $50 million in deferred payments, as well as a $21 million signing bonus. Which means you can either say it’s definitely Lindor, or, acknowledge that this battle is real tight at shortstop. Over one-quarter of the league has a shortstop making at least $22.5M in 2025, which is a good reminder that it’s a vital position.

3B: Anthony Rendon, Los Angeles Angels ($35M AAV)

Rendon’s career with the Angels has not gone according to any conceivable plan. He’s in his fifth season with the team, and is out for all of 2025 after undergoing hip surgery earlier in the year. The oft-injured Rendon had likely lost his job as a starter, anyway, as general manager Perry Minasian had said over the offseason that he’d be competing for a job in the spring, but still. Rendon’s first season with the Angels was typical of his best work, as he posted a 150 OPS+, but since then, he’s managed just 205 games and an 86 OPS+.

LF: Jose Altuve, Houston Astros ($25M AAV)

Altuve would have been in the running for highest-paid second baseman, but his position switch has him now at the top in left field. For whatever reason, left field just isn’t a position that pulls in huge contracts in today’s MLB: Ian Happ’s $20.3M AAV is second, as part of a three-year, $61M deal, and Brandon Nimmo’s eight-year, $162M contract comes out to a $20.25M AAV. Not that either of those contracts (nor Altuve’s) is chump change by any means.

CF: Cody Bellinger, New York Yankees ($26.6M AAV)

The Cubs moved Bellinger to the Yankees this past offseason in order to make room for Kyle Tucker — who could very well show up on this list in a year after the prospective free agent signs a new deal. The total value of Bellinger’s deal isn’t that high, as he signed a bit of a make-good, short-term deal with a high AAV following a rough 2022 season with the Dodgers, but it’s still enough to top this list after Mike Trout ($35.5M AAV) shifted to right field. Bellinger thrived with the Cubs (.286/.340/.475, 125 OPS+) but has faltered in the early going with New York (.206/.283/.361, 83 OPS+).

Barring any larger signings between now and then, George Springer (six-year, $150M for a $25M AAV) will take over this spot next spring after Bellinger’s contract expires.

RF: Juan Soto, New York Mets ($51M AAV)

The largest contract in MLB history is tops among right fielders, and it’s not close even with Aaron Judge pulling in $40 million per year combined with Trout’s position switch. Soto will actually make far, far more than his average annual value suggests in 2025, since his contract included a $75 million signing bonus that was paid out even before spring training began. (Or, a signing bonus worth almost as much as Bellinger’s entire center field-leading contract.) 

Why is Soto paid this much? Well, the cost of an elite talent goes up faster than the cost of practically anything else, and one who was available as a free agent as young as Soto was is also a rarity. Combine those two things together, and you get this history-making deal. Consider, too, that Soto is off to a slow start in 2025… but only by his standards: he has a .374 on-base percentage and a 122 OPS+ despite the fact he hasn’t even started hitting for his usual power yet.

DH: Shohei Ohtani, Los Angeles Dodgers ($70M AAV)

Well this one takes some explaining. For one, Ohtani is being slotted in as a DH because that’s the only position he’s playing at the moment as he recovers from his second Tommy John surgery. Second, Ohtani has an AAV of $70 million, yes, but $68 million of that is deferred each year until after his contract with the Dodgers ends: he’s making "just" $2 million in the present to suit up for the Dodgers, and the present-day value of that deferred money isn’t anywhere close to $68 million, either. Basically, Soto’s deal, with its lack of deferred money, is worth a whole lot more than the straight $65 million in additional funds that it bested Ohtani’s by.

However, we’ve been playing by AAV rules this whole time, so Ohtani’s AAV is listed above. The good news for those of you still reading at this point is that we do have an estimate of the value of Ohtani’s deal after considering the passage of time and inflation and such: the MLB Players Association calculates the total value of the contract at about $438 million. Or, an AAV of $43.8M, which would still easily clear the likes of Giancarlo Stanton ($25M AAV) and Kris Bryant ($26M AAV). And just for completionist’s sake, for payroll accounting purposes, Ohtani is listed at $28.2M, which would still rank first among designated hitters.

SP: Zack Wheeler, Philadelphia Phillies ($42M AAV)

The Phillies’ ace has been a revelation since joining them as a free agent before the 2020 season, but since he was older after his initial deal than when he signed it — that’s how aging works and all — the Phillies were a bit more cautious the second time around despite his performance. Not in dollars, necessarily, but in years: whereas Wheeler signed a five-year, $121 million contract before 2020, his new deal is for just three years, but at a total cost ($126M) higher than his longer first deal. Wheeler is making $42 million in each of those three seasons — no signing bonuses, no deferrals, just big, $42 million checks. Oh, and a hotel suite on the road, which, have you seen the costs of hotels lately? That makes the deal worth it on its own.

RP: Edwin Diaz, New York Mets ($20.4M)

Astros’ closer Josh Hader might be making a teensy bit more in 2025 — $19 million to Díaz’s $17.5 million — but the years are even and the total value of the latter’s deal is greater, and his 2025 salary only lower due to a $12 million signing bonus paid upfront. The Mets’ closer signed his deal after one of the truly great seasons in relief, where he struck out 118 batters in a mere 62 innings while posting a 1.31 ERA. He’s dealt with knee and shoulder problems since, however, and hasn’t reached that form since.

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