Dodgers News: MLB’s Two Highest-Paid Players This Year Both Play For LA
Los Angeles Dodgers designated hitter Shohei Ohtani might have deferred the majority of his record-breaking 10-year, $700 million contract he signed with the Dodgers last December, but he’s still the highest-paid player in MLB this season based on salary and endorsements combined.
Ohtani currently has a base salary of just $2 million, a bargain price relative to his value, but is making around $65 million total for the 2024 season thanks to endorsements. No player toward the top of the list is making even close to the amount that Ohtani is through endorsements.
After Ohtani, Dodgers pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto comes in second on the list, ranking in approximately $60 million between salary and endorsements. Unlike Ohtani, Yamamoto is making the majority of this through his salary. Yamamoto signed with the Dodgers on a 12-year, $325 million contract last December, and is making around $55 million in salary, and another $5 million in endorsements, per Sportico.
After Ohtani and Yamamoto, no other Dodgers player makes the top 10. Texas Rangers pitcher Max Scherzer comes in third with about $55 million this year. New York Yankees’ Aaron Judge follows in fourth with about $45 million combined between endorsements and salary, and Houston Astros pitcher Justin Verlander comes in fifth, making slightly less in combined earnings than Judge.
Ohtani has lived up to his enormous contract with his play this season, which included setting the Dodgers’ season-single home run record. Ohtani became the first player in MLB history to hit 50 home runs and steal 50 bases in a season and is now headed to play in the postseason for the first time in his MLB career.
Yamamoto has also had a strong first season with the Dodgers, though his season was partially limited because of a shoulder injury. Thankfully for the Dodgers, Yamamoto is back in time for the postseason, which the Dodgers desperately need given the vast amount of injuries to their starting rotation.
Photo Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn Images
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