The talk of the MLB offseason was the decision that Japanese superstar Shoehi 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 are aces Max Scherzer and Justin Verlander who are tied making $43.33 million each. Taking the fourth spot is Scherzer’s Rangers teammate 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. Capping off the top five is the Yankees’ Gerrit Cole, making $36 million annually. Cole signed a nine-year, $324 million contract with New York in 2019.
Top 25 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: April 16, 2024
- Will be updated again: July 2024
| Rank | Player | Team | Compensation |
| 1 | Shoehi Ohtani | Los Angeles Dodgers | $70 million |
| T-2 | Justin Verlander | Houston Astros | $43.33 million |
| T-2 | Max Scherzer | Texas Rangers | $43.33 million |
| 4 | Jacob deGrom | Texas Rangers | $37 million |
| 5 | Gerrit Cole | New York Yankees | $36 million |
| 6 | Stephen Strasburg | Washington Nationals | $35 million |
| 7 | Blake Snell | San Francisco Giants | $31 million |
| 8 | Tyler Glasnow | Los Angeles Dodgers | $27.31 million |
| 9 | Yoshinobu Yamamoto | Los Angeles Dodgers | $27.08 million |
| 10 | Carlos Rodon | New York Yankees | $27 million |
| 11 | Sonny Gray | St. Louis Cardinals | $25 million |
| 12 | Aaron Nola | Philadelphia Phillies | $24.57 million |
| 13 | Zack Wheeler | Philadelphia Phillies | $23.6 million |
| 14 | Patrick Corbin | Washington Nationals | $23.33 million |
| 15 | Robbie Ray | San Francisco Giants | $23 million |
| 16 | Kevin Gausman | Toronto Blue Jays | $22 million |
| 17 | Luis Castillo | Seattle Mariners | $21.6 million |
| 18 | Chris Bassitt | Toronto Blue Jays | $21 million |
| 19 | Edwin Diaz | New York Mets | $20.4 million |
| T-20 | Eduardo Rodriguez | Arizona Diamondbacks | $20 million |
| T-20 | Charlie Morton | Atlanta Braves | $20 million |
| T-20 | Joe Musgrove | San Diego Padres | $20 million |
| 23 | Lucas Giolito | Boston Red Sox | $19.25 million |
| T-24 | Chris Sale | Atlanta Braves | $19 million |
| T-24 | Josh Hader | Houston Astros | $19 million |
