Athletes

The 25 Highest-Paid MLB Outfielders

Juan Soto tops the list as the only outfielder earning over $50 million.
Eight of the highest-paid outfielders play for a New York or Los Angeles-based team.

Apr 15, 2024 | 06:33 am

UPDATED Jan 25, 2025 | 01:09 pm

Jim Rassol-Imagn Images

In 2025, outfielders are among the highest earners in the sport.

With notable names like Aaron Judge, Mike Trout, and Mookie Betts in the top five, retaining this level of talent requires significant financial investment.

The Mets’ newly signed slugger Juan Soto takes the top spot, earning $51 million.

The landmark contract, signed on December 8th, is worth $765 million. Already the most lucrative contract in MLB history, it features escalators and no deferrals that could raise the total value to $820 million.

Aaron Judge, one of the most formidable hitters in baseball, is second, earning $40 million annually. Last year, Judge signed a massive nine-year, $360 million contract to remain with the Yankees.

Following Judge is Mike Trout, often regarded as one of the greatest baseball players of his generation. The three-time AL MVP signed a twelve-year, $426.5 million contract with the Angels in 2019.

Trailing Trout in the fourth spot is Mookie Betts, a marquee right fielder who can also play shortstop for the Dodgers. In 2020, Betts signed a 12-year, $365 million contract extension with Los Angeles.

Fifth is the Brewers’ Christian Yelich, making $26.93 million annually. Yelich signed a seven-year, $188.5 million contract in 2020.

After combining their salaries, Juan Soto will outearn two of his new Mets teammates who made the list by over $11 million.

Top 25 Highest-Paid Outfielders

Here is the full list of the top 25 highest-paid MLB outfielders by average salary. The list was compiled using data from Spotrac.

Updated: April 10th, 2025

Rank	Player	Team	Compensation
1	Juan Soto	New York Mets	$51 million
2	Aaron Judge	New York Yankees	$40 million
3	Mike Trout	Los Angeles Angels	$35.54 million
4	Cody Bellinger	New York Yankees	$26.67 million
T-5	George Springer	Toronto Blue Jays	$25 million
T-5	Jose Altuve	Houston Astros	$25 million
7	Fernando Tatis Jr.	San Diego Padres	$24.29 million
8	Teoscar Hernandez	Los Angeles Dodgers	$22 million
9	Ian Happ	Chicago Cubs	$20.33 million
10	Brandon Nimmo	New York Mets	$20.25 million
11	Nick Castellanos	Philadelphia Phillies	$20 million
12	Starling Marte	New York Mets	$19.5 million
13	Yordan Alvarez	Houston Astros	$19.2 million
14	Jung-hoo Lee	San Francisco Giants	$18.83 million
15	Anthony Santander	Toronto Blue Jays	$18.5 million
16	Julio Rodriguez	Seattle Mariners	$17.44 million
17	Michael Conforto	Los Angeles Dodgers	$17 million
T-18	Kyle Tucker	Chicago Cubs	$16.5 million
T-18	Tyler O’Neill	Baltimore Orioles	$16.5 million
20	Byron Buxton	Minnesota Twins	$14.3 million
T-21	Jurickson Profar	Atlanta Braves	$14 million
T-21	Lourdes Gurriel Jr.	Arizona Diamondbacks	$14 million
23	Corbin Carroll	Arizona Diamondbacks	$13.9 million
24	Bryan Reynolds	Pittsburgh Pirates	$13.3 million
25	Ronald Acuna Jr.	Atlanta Braves	$12.5 million