Juan Soto holds the title. In December, he agreed to a15-year, $765 million dealwith theNew York Mets, the largest deal in professional sports history. His salary in 2025 will be $61.88 million, easily making him the highest-paid player in baseball. The deal also didn't include a penny of deferred money with a $75 million signing bonus, along with an opt-out after the fifth year. Shohei Ohtani, who agreed to a historic10-year, $700 million contract with the Los Angeles Dodgersbefore the 2024 season, will average $70 million per year. But because of his heavily deferred deal, he will make much less than that. Ohtani is deferring $68 million of his $70 million annual salary, lowering his present-day value to $28 million. Ohtani is actually the18thhighest-paid player in baseballas calculated by the MLB Labor Relations Department in 2025. (In present-day value calculated by MLB) 1 − Juan Soto, Mets − $61,875,000 2 − Zack Wheeler,Phillies− $42,000,000 T3 − Aaron Judge, Yankees − $40,000,000 T3 − Jacob deGrom, Rangers − $40,000,000 5 − Anthony Rendon, Angels − $38,571,429 6 − Carlos Correa, Twins − $37,333,333 7 − Mike Trout, Angels − $37,116,667 8 − Gerrit Cole, Yankees − $36,000,000 9 − Jose Altuve, Astros − $33,000,000 10 − Corey Seager, Rangers − $32,500,000 11 − Francisco Lindor, Mets − $32,477,639 12 − Giancarlo Stanton, Yankees − $32,000,000 13 − Corbin Burnes,Diamondbacks− $30,791,435 T14 − Pete Alonso, Mets − $30,000,000 T14 − Tyler Glasnow, Dodgers − $30,000,000 16 − Nolan Arenado, Cardinals − $29,533,909 17 − Vladimir Guerrero, Jr., Blue Jays − $28,500,000 18 − Shohei Ohtani, Dodgers − $28,213,523 19 − Dansby Swanson, Cubs − $28,000,000 20 − Carlos Rodon, Yankees − $27,833,333 21 − Bryce Harper, Phillies − $27,538,462 22 − Cody Bellinger, Yankees − $27,500,000 23 − Trea Turner, Phillies − $27,272,727 24 − Kris Bryant, Rockies − $27,000,000 25 − Blake Snell, Dodgers − $26,825,953 2025 MLB SALARIES:https://databases.usatoday.com/major-league-baseball-salaries-2025/ The figures, compiled by USA TODAY, are calculated by the MLB Labor Relations Department of the present-day value of contracts including deferrals and signing bonuses. The figures by MLB and distributed to all teams are intended to reflect the cash obligations in any given year. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:Highest-paid MLB player 2025: 25 biggest baseball salaries in 2025
