The talk of the last MLB offseason was the decision Japanese superstar Shohei Ohtani would have to make regarding his future.
In the largest deal in MLB history, Ohtani chose to sign a 10-year, $700 million contract with the Dodgers. This deal not only made Ohtani the highest-paid pitcher in the league but also the highest-paid player overall.
Following Ohtani is Zack Wheeler of the Phillies earning $42 million. Taking third is Jacob deGrom. In 2022, deGrom signed a five-year, $185 million contract with the Rangers which included a 2028 club option which can take the maximum value of the deal to $222 million.
Coming in fourth is the newest addition to the Dodgers’ bullpen, Blake Snell. He signed a deal with Los Angeles on Thanksgiving that will have him making $36.4 million annually. The five-year, $182 million contract includes $65 million deferred or $13 million annually in deferred money.
Wrapping up the top five is Gerrit Cole of the Yankees earning $36 million.
Cole signed a nine-year, $324 million contract with New York in 2019. After their World Series loss to the Dodgers, he decided to keep his pinstripes instead of opting out.
The Dodgers are paying their three highest-paid pitchers featured on the list $133.71 million, but they still have available cap space to potentially add superstar slugger Juan Soto.
Top 25 Highest-Paid Pitchers
Here is the full list of the 25 highest-paid MLB pitchers by average salary. The list was compiled using data from Spotrac.
- Updated: December 2nd, 2024
| Rank | Player | Team | Compensation |
| 1 | Shohei Ohtani | Los Angeles Dodgers | $70 million |
| 2 | Zack Wheeler | Philadelphia Phillies | $42 million |
| 3 | Jacob deGrom | Texas Rangers | $37 million |
| 4 | Blake Snell | Los Angeles Dodgers | $36.4 million |
| 5 | Gerrit Cole | New York Yankees | $36 million |
| 6 | Tyler Glasnow | Los Angeles Dodgers | $27.31 million |
| 7 | Yoshinobu Yamamoto | Los Angeles Dodgers | $27.08 million |
| 8 | Carlos Rodon | New York Yankees | $27 million |
| T-9 | Jordan Montgomery | Arizona Diamondbacks | $25 million |
| T-9 | Sonny Gray | St. Louis Cardinals | $25 million |
| 11 | Aaron Nola | Philadelphia Phillies | $24.57 million |
| 12 | Robbie Ray | San Francisco Giants | $23 million |
| 13 | Kevin Gausman | Toronto Blue Jays | $22 million |
| 14 | Luis Castillo | Seattle Mariners | $21.6 million |
| 15 | Nick Martinez | Cincinnati Reds | $21.05 million |
| T-16 | Chris Bassitt | Toronto Blue Jays | $21 million |
| T-16 | Yusei Kikuchi | Los Angeles Angels | $21 million |
| T-18 | Eduardo Rodriguez | Arizona Diamondbacks | $20 million |
| T-18 | Joe Musgrove | San Diego Padres | $20 million |
| 20 | Lucas Giolito | Boston Red Sox | $19.25 million |
| 21 | Chris Sale | Atlanta Braves | $19 million |
| 22 | Framber Valdez | Houston Astros | $18.8 million |
| 23 | José Berríos | Toronto Blue Jays | $18.7 million |
| 24 | Miles Mikolas | St. Louis Cardinals | $18.58 million |
| 25 | Marcus Stroman | New York Yankees | $18.5 million |
