Highest and Lowest Major League Baseball Payrolls Heading Into Opening Day

Major League Baseball will fully open the 2024 season this week. As rosters are being finalized, we finally have a look at how much money teams will spend. What follows is a look at the five highest and five lowest of MLB's 30 payrolls.

1. New York Mets, $301.5 Million

The Mets are at the top of baseball in spending for the second straight season with a payroll of more than $301,500,000. Owner Steve Cohen will hope to get a better return on his investment this year following a sub-.500, 75-win season in 2023 that saw the Mets finish a whopping 29 games out of first place.

The Mets have one of the most diverse portfolios this season as they owe $64 million to players who are no longer with the franchise. They also have more than $11 million in salaries stashed in the minor leagues. Four players will make more than $20 million this year, with Francisco Lindor at the top of the heap at $34.1 million. Oh, and because we still love this fact, they still owe Bobby Bonilla $1.2 million this year.

2. New York Yankees, $290 Million

The Yankees' 26-man roster has the highest payroll in baseball and when you add in everything else they're right behind the Mets with $290 million on the books this year. Aaron Judge leads the way with a $40 million salary this year and Gerrit Cole comes in second at $36 million. Giancarlo Stanton is owed $32 million, Juan Soto is making $31 million in his final season before free agency, and Carlos Rodon is in the second year of a six-year deal and will make $27.8 million this season.

There was a time when the Yankees were known as the most willing spenders in sports. Now they're not even the highest spending team in New York.

3. Houston Astros, $237.3 Million

There's a pretty big gap between the New York teams and everyone else, but Houston's $237.3 million payroll is nothing to sneeze at. Just five years ago the Astros would have been a few million behind the highest-paid team in the league, but now their payroll looks like a bargain. Especially when you remember that the teams ahead of them are scrambling to win a World Series, which Houston just did in 2022.

Jose Altuve and Alex Bregman will make a combined $62 million this year, which is 26 percent of the team's total payroll. First baseman Jose Abreu is owed $19.5 million, while newly signed closer Josh Hader will make $19 million. Justin Verlander is set to earn $43.3 million this season, but the Astros are only on the hook for $22.5 after the Mets kept the rest when they traded him last August.

4. Philadelphia Phillies, $236.2 Million

The Phillies keep creeping up these rankings and their $236.2 million payroll ranks fourth. They are set to have seven players making more than $20 million in 2024. Bryce Harper leads the way at $27.5 million, while Trea Turner will make $27.3 million and Aaron Nola will get $24.6 million as part of a new seven-year contract. J.T. Realmuto ($23.9 million), Zach Wheeler ($23.5 million), Nick Castellanos ($20 million) and Kyle Schwarber ($20 million) round out Philly's most expensive deals. Taijuan Walker just missed being part of the $20-plus million crew as he's set to earn $18 million.

The Phillies are going for it and spending big. They have handed out massive contracts in each of the past two offseasons and their payroll reflects a desire to win. And win now.

5. Atlanta Braves, $224.3 Million

It's pretty amazing that at $224.3 million the Braves have the fifth-highest payroll in baseball, but rank third in the National League East. Atlanta doesn't have a single salary of more than $22 million, but has a ton of depth and also $26.4 million in retained salary for players no longer with the franchise.

Matt Olson is the team's highest-paid player at $22 million, Austin Riley will make $21 million and 40-year-old Charlie Morton will make $20 million. Then we come to the biggest bargain in baseball, as somehow reigning NL MVP Ronald Acuña Jr. will only make $17 million this season. That's almost unfair.

On the other end of the spectrum ...

26. Tampa Bay Rays, $87.2 Million

The Rays won 99 games and made the postseason in 2023 with a payroll of $79.4 million. They have inched higher in 2024, up to $87.2 million, but will be without Tyler Glasnow, while Shane McClanahan and Drew Rasmussen open the season on the IL with arm injuries.

Opening Day starter Zach Eflin is the only player on the roster with an eight-figure salary, as he'll make $11 million this season. Randy Arozarena ($8.1 million), Yandy Diaz ($8 million), Isaac Paredes ($3.4 million) and Josh Lowe ($770,000) are all wildly underpaid, helping Tampa keep its bills down.

27. Miami Marlins, $86.5 Million

The Marlins went 84-78 and reached the postseason in 2023 with a payroll of $105.4 million. They slashed that number by nearly $20 million in 2024. The removal of Jorge Soler's $19 million salary, plus the exits of David Robertson, Joey Wendle and Johnny Cueto helped reduce that number.

Josh Bell ($16.5 million), Avisail Garcia ($12 million) and Luis Arraez ($10.6 million) have Miami's only eight-figure contracts. Meanwhile, Sandy Alcantara and his $9.3 million salary are on the injury list after Tommy John surgery. It might be hard for the Marlins match their success from 2023 with so many subtractions.

28. Cleveland Guardians, $86.4 Million

The Guardians come in just below the Marlins at $86.4 million. Cleveland has one of the best bargains in the game in Jose Ramirez's $17 million salary. Shane Bieber will make $13.1 million this season and no one else on the roster makes eight figures.

Cleveland's pitching staff includes bargains like two-time All-Star closer Emmanuel Clase and his $2.9 million salary, and starter Tanner Bibee who hasn't yet hit arbitration. The Guardians are pushing a youth movement and it has made their roster really cheap.

29. Pittsburgh Pirates, $72 Million

The Pirates are perennially near the bottom of these lists and the franchise's results have tended to match its payroll. Pittsburgh's ledger comes in at $72 million in 2024, but there is value on the roster. Perhaps more than any recent season.

Aroldis Chapman ($10.5 million) and Bryan Reynolds ($10.3 million) have the franchise's only eight-figure salaries. Mitch Keller ($5.9 million), David Bednar ($4.5 million) and Ke'Bryan Hayes ($7 million) are cheap for their production levels, while Oneil Cruz and Jack Suwinski are still in their pre-arbitration years. A top 10 farm system should keep supplying the big league team with cheap talent into the future.

30. Oakland Athletics, $47.1 Million

This should shock no one. A's owner John Fischer's miserly ways are legendary and this payroll is an insult to the league. Oakland's roster cost $62.2 million in 2023, and that has been slashed to $47.1 million for 2024. Only two players make more than $3.5 million, Ross Stripling ($12.5 million) and Alex Wood ($8.5 million) have that distinction.

Stephen Douglas and Ryan Phillips are staff writers at The Big Lead.