The 2025 Major League Baseball season is upon us, and to make it to October, a team’s pitching bullpen is equally as important as its batting lineup. Some teams, such as the Los Angeles Dodgers, which won last year’s World Series, are sparing no expense on pitching talent.
This year, the Dodgers have baseball’s second-highest payroll, at $306.5 million, according to Spotrac data, and its two-way player, Shohei Ohtani, takes up almost a quarter of that. The New York Mets, which lost to the Dodgers in the 2024 National League pennant race, have the highest payroll in the league due to signing outfielder Juan Soto to a record contract and leaving little room for its bullpen.
This list, though, leaves out starting pitchers who are either out for injury (Gerrit Cole of the New York Yankees out for the season for Tommy John surgery) or are questionable to start the season (Shane Bieber of the Cleveland Guardians due to recovery from Tommy John surgery).
Among some of the statistics calculated by TheStreet via data compiled by Spotrac, which tracks players’ contracts, the top five starting pitchers by team had a median average 2025 salary of $40 million, compared to $5 million for the bottom five. The average age of starting pitchers was 32.5 years old.
The majority of teams begin their season on March 27, 2025.
Here are the starting pitcher salaries for each of the 30 MLB teams in ascending order.
30. Ben Lively
- Team: Cleveland Guardians
- Age: 33
- 2025 average salary: $2.3 million
- 1-year contract total: $2.3 million
- Years into contract: 1
- Seasons in MLB (inclusive): 6
29. Drew Rasmussen
- Team: Tampa Bay Rays
- Age: 29
- 2025 average salary: $4.3 million
- 2-year contract total: $8.5 million
- Years into contract: 1
- Seasons in MLB (inclusive): 6
28. Martin Perez
- Team: Chicago White Sox
- Age: 33
- 2025 average salary: $5 million
- 1-year contract total: $5 million
- Years into contract: 1
- Seasons in MLB (inclusive): 14
27. Brandon Woodruff
- Team: Milwaukee Brewers
- Age: 32
- 2025 average salary: $8.8 million
- 2-year contract total: $17.5 million
- Years into contract: 2
- Seasons in MLB (inclusive): 8
26. Michael Soroka
- Team: Washington Nationals
- Age: 27
- 2025 average salary: $9 million
- 1-year contract total: $9 million
- Years into contract: 1
- Seasons in MLB (inclusive): 6
Related: Juan Soto’s net worth & the biggest contract in MLB history
25. Sandy Alcantara
- Team: Miami Marlins
- Age: 29
- 2025 average salary: $11.2 million
- 5-year contract total: $56 million
- Years into contract: 4
- Seasons in MLB (inclusive): 8
24. Kyle Freeland
- Team: Colorado Rockies
- Age: 31
- 2025 average salary: $12.9 million
- 5-year contract total: $64.5 million
- Years into contract: 4
- Seasons in MLB (inclusive): 9
23. Charlie Morton
- Team: Baltimore Orioles
- Age: 41
- 2025 average salary: $15 million
- 1-year contract total: $15 million
- Years into contract: 1
- Seasons in MLB (inclusive): 18
22. Mitch Keller
- Team: Pittsburgh Pirates
- Age: 28
- 2025 average salary: $15.4 million
- 5-year contract total: $77 million
- Years into contract: 2
- Seasons in MLB (inclusive): 7
21. Michael Wacha
- Team: Kansas City Royals
- Age: 33
- 2025 average salary: $17 million
- 3-year contract total: $51 million
- Years into contract: 1
- Seasons in MLB (inclusive): 13
20. Jameson Taillon
- Team: Chicago Cubs
- Age: 33
- 2025 average salary: $17 million
- 4-year contract total: $68 million
- Years into contract: 3
- Seasons in MLB (inclusive): 9
Related: Shohei Ohtani’s net worth: World Series champion’s Dodgers contract & endorsements
19. Jack Flaherty
- Team: Detroit Tigers
- Age: 29
- 2025 average salary: $17.5 million
- 2-year contract total: $35 million
- Years into contract: 1
- Seasons in MLB (inclusive): 9
18. Yu Darvish
- Team: San Diego Padres
- Age: 38
- 2025 average salary: $18 million
- 6-year contract total: $108 million
- Years into contract: 3
- Seasons in MLB (inclusive): 13
17. Framber Valdez
- Team: Houston Astros
- Age: 31
- 2025 average salary: $18 million
- 1-year contract total: $18 million
- Years into contract: 1
- Seasons in MLB (inclusive): 8
16. Pablo Lopez
- Team: Minnesota Twins
- Age: 29
- 2025 average salary: $18.4 million
- 4-year contract total: $73.5 million
- Years into contract: 2
- Seasons in MLB (inclusive): 8
15. Chris Sale
- Team: Atlanta Braves
- Age: 35
- 2025 average salary: $19 million
- 2-year contract total: $38 million
- Years into contract: 2
- Seasons in MLB (inclusive): 15
14. Walker Buehler
- Team: Boston Red Sox
- Age: 30
- 2025 average salary: $21.1 million
- 1-year contract total: $21.1 million
- Years into contract: 1
- Seasons in MLB (inclusive): 8
13. Nick Martinez
- Team: Cincinnati Reds
- Age: 34
- 2025 average salary: $21.1 million
- 1-year contract total: $21.1 million
- Years into contract: 1
- Seasons in MLB (inclusive): 8
12. Yusei Kikuchi
- Team: Los Angeles Angels
- Age: 33
- 2025 average salary: $21.2 million
- 3-year contract total: $63.7 million
- Years into contract: 1
- Seasons in MLB (inclusive): 7
11. Luis Castillo
- Team: Seattle Mariners
- Age: 32
- 2025 average salary: $21.6 million
- 5-year contract total: $108 million
- Years into contract: 3
- Seasons in MLB (inclusive): 9
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10. Kevin Gausman
- Team: Toronto Blue Jays
- Age: 34
- 2025 average salary: $22 million
- 5-year contract total: $110 million
- Years into contract: 3
- Seasons in MLB (inclusive): 13
9. Luis Severino
- Team: Athletics
- Age: 31
- 2025 average salary: $22.3 million
- 3-year contract total: $67 million
- Years into contract: 1
- Seasons in MLB (inclusive): 10
8. Robbie Ray
- Team: San Francisco Giants
- Age: 33
- 2025 average salary: $23 million
- 5-year contract total: $115 million*
- Years into contract: 4
- Seasons in MLB (inclusive): 12
* Continuation of contract first signed with the Seattle Mariners
7. Sonny Gray
- Team: St. Louis Cardinals
- Age: 35
- 2025 average salary: $25 million
- 3-year contract total: $75 million
- Years into contract: 2
- Seasons in MLB (inclusive): 13
6. Sean Manaea
- Team: New York Mets
- Age: 33
- 2025 average salary: $25 million
- 3-year contract total: $75 million
- Years into contract: 1
- Seasons in MLB (inclusive): 10
5. Max Fried
- Team: New York Yankees
- Age: 31
- 2025 average salary: $27.25 million
- 8-year contract total: $218 million
- Years into contract: 1
- Seasons in MLB (inclusive): 9
4. Corbin Burnes
- Team: Arizona Diamondbacks
- Age: 30
- 2025 average salary: $35 million
- 6-year contract total: $210 million
- Years into contract: 1
- Seasons in MLB (inclusive): 8
3. Jacob deGrom
- Team: Texas Rangers
- Age: 36
- 2025 average salary: $40 million
- 5-year contract total: $185 million
- Years into contract: 3
- Seasons in MLB (inclusive): 12
2. Zack Wheeler
- Team: Philadelphia Phillies
- Age: 34
- 2025 average salary: $42 million
- 3-year contract total: $126 million
- Years into contract: 1
- Seasons in MLB (inclusive): 11
1. Shohei Ohtani
- Team: Los Angeles Dodgers
- Age: 30
- 2025 average salary: $70 million
- 10-year contract total: $700 million
- Years into contract: 2
- Seasons in MLB (inclusive): 9
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