Baseball’s Average Salary Hits $3.4m

Major League Baseball’s average salary has seen its steepest rise since 2008, reveals a new study by The Associated Press.

The major league average salary has risen 4.1 percent to $3.44 million, with the Los Angeles Angels, Miami Marlins, Texas Rangers, Tampa Bay Rays, Kansas City Royals and Detroit Tigers all seeing their payrolls inflate heavily during the offseason.

Meanwhile, some traditionally big spenders have seen their wage bills drop – the New York Mets, Chicago Cubs and Chicago White Sox are among those that have reduced what they pay players.

The Associated Press’s study of major league contracts also revealed that the New York Yankees remain the cash king – their payroll topped $200 million on opening day for the fifth year running. They also have the highest-paid player, the $30 million-a-year Alex Rodriguez. Rodriguez has been the league’s best-paid player for 12 straight seasons.

Other big money deals include the $240 million contract given to Albert Pujols by Angels owner Arte Moreno. Earlier this week, Cincinnati struck a deal with Joey Votto for $251.5 million over 12 years – that’s the third richest deal in MLB history, and the outright longest. San Francisco’s right-handed pitcher Matt Cain was also awarded a $127.5 million over the next six seasons.

Mets general manager Sandy Alderson told the AP:

“I think it’s a healthy sign to the extent that the weaker clubs financially, or lower-revenue clubs, are starting to spend a little more. It would suggest that revenues have been improving for those clubs. To the extent that payrolls move closer together, it probably is a sign of additional competitiveness. Although, again, there’s not always a correlation between the payroll and team success.”

The number of $10 million players has risen from 82 to 89, while there are now 14 stars at $20 million or more – last season, there was just 10.

However, million-dollar salaries have dropped slightly, from 453 to 448. Nevertheless, that’s almost 53 percent of the 852 players on opening-day rosters.