Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer, a hard-luck loser on Opening Day, got at least one win Thursday, as he moved ahead of Angels outfielder Mike Trout as MLB's highest paid player for the 2019 season, according to The Associated Press' annual study of pay and payrolls.
Meanwhile, for the second straight season, the Red Sox's Opening Day payroll came in as the highest in the game at just under $222 million, though that figure was the lowest for a top payroll at season's start since 2012.
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Trout made an MLB-best $34.08 million in 2018 and recently signed the most lucrative contract in MLB history, but his pay for 2019 under the new deal dropped in exchange for a $20 million signing bonus. Scherzer will be paid $37.4 million this year.
Other noteworthy nuggets from The AP's study:
— MLB's average salary dropped for an unprecedented second consecutive Opening Day to approximately $4,375,000, a decrease of some $36,000.
— The median Opening Day salary, the figure where an equal number of players earn above and below, rose to $1.4 million.
— The number of players making $1 million or more rose to 482, up from 477.
— The top five players in terms of annual pay are all pitchers.
— Five MLB teams' payrolls were below $90 million.
Top five MLB Opening Day payrolls
1. Red Sox, $222 million
2. Cubs, $209 million
3. Yankees, $207 million
4. Dodgers, $191 million
5. Nationals, $185 million
Bottom five MLB Opening Day payrolls
26. Athletics, $88 million
27. Orioles, $78 million
28. Pirates, $77 million
29. Marlins, $71 million
30. Rays, $61 million
Methodology: The AP's figures include salaries and prorated shares of signing bonuses and other guaranteed income for players on active rosters and injured lists and three players on the restricted list who otherwise would have been active or on the injured list.
