The talk of the last MLB offseason was the decision Japanese superstar Shohei Ohtani would have to make regarding his future.
In the second-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 until Juan Soto took that crown.
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 including a 2028 club option that 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 for $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.
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 11th, 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 | Max Fried | New York Yankees | $27.3 million |
| 8 | Yoshinobu Yamamoto | Los Angeles Dodgers | $27.08 million |
| 9 | Carlos Rodon | New York Yankees | $27 million |
| T-10 | Jordan Montgomery | Arizona Diamondbacks | $25 million |
| T-10 | Sonny Gray | St. Louis Cardinals | $25 million |
| T-10 | Nathan Eovaldi | Texas Rangers | $25 million |
| 13 | Aaron Nola | Philadelphia Phillies | $24.57 million |
| 14 | Robbie Ray | San Francisco Giants | $23 million |
| 15 | Luis Severino | Oakland Athletics | $22.3 million |
| 16 | Kevin Gausman | Toronto Blue Jays | $22 million |
| 17 | Luis Castillo | Seattle Mariners | $21.6 million |
| 18 | Yusei Kikuchi | Los Angeles Angels | $21.2 million |
| 19 | Nick Martinez | Cincinnati Reds | $21.05 million |
| 20 | Chris Bassitt | Toronto Blue Jays | $21 million |
| T-21 | Eduardo Rodriguez | Arizona Diamondbacks | $20 million |
| T-21 | Joe Musgrove | San Diego Padres | $20 million |
| 23 | Lucas Giolito | Boston Red Sox | $19.25 million |
| 24 | Chris Sale | Atlanta Braves | $19 million |
| 25 | Framber Valdez | Houston Astros | $18.8 million |
