What is the lowest salary in the MLB?

Major League Baseball has a minimum player salary in place to ensure that its athletes are fairly compensated for the work they do. The MLB minimum salary in 2022 stood at 700 thousand U.S. dollars annually, representing a steady increase each year over the last 15 years.

Money to be made in the MLB

MLB players are known to receive generous yearly salaries, in addition to performance incentives, such as prizes for games won. The average player salary in 2022 was more than seven times higher than the minimum salary, at around 4.41 million U.S. dollars. This also represents almost double the average player salary from 2003, illustrating the rapid boom of money in baseball.

MLB's biggest earners

Certain positions in the MLB, such as first base or starting pitcher, are usually better paid due to the important roles they are considered to have in the game. The highest paid players in the MLB in the 2022 season include New York Mets’ pitcher Max Scherzer and Los Angeles Angels' center fielder Mike Trout. In 2022, the Los Angeles Dodgers were the best-paid baseball team in the MLB with an opening day payroll of 261.68 million U.S. dollars. The Baltimore Orioles, on the other hand, were the most thrifty franchise with an opening day payroll of just over 45 million U.S. dollars.