As one of the biggest sports leagues in America with TV viewers reaching into the millions , Major League Baseball can afford to pay its players handsomely . The average salary for a player in the MLB stood at 4.36 million U.S. dollars in 2019 . While this represented a small drop on the figure from 2018 , it still marks an almost twofold increase on the average salary in 2003 . Highs and lows of MLB salaries While the stars of every MLB team take home millions every year , there is still a minimum player salary in place to ensure that all players are compensated for their efforts . The 2019 MLB minimum player salary was set at 555 thousand U.S. dollars , a significant increase on the minimum of 300 thousand U.S. dollars in 2003 . The annual player salaries also vary widely from team to team – while players of the Oakland Athletics take home an average of 2.09 million U.S. dollars yearly , players for the San Francisco Giants pocket an average of 7.38 million U.S. dollars . The winners of the 2018 World Series , the Boston Red Sox , rewarded their players with an average annual salary of 6.45 million U.S. dollars . The league 's top earnersThe highest earner in the MLB in 2019 was the starting pitcher for the Arizona Diamondbacks , Stephen Strasburg . The 30-year-old three-time All-Star took home an annual salary of 38.33 million U.S. dollars in the 2019 season . Due to their prominent role on the team , it is unsurprising that the second highest earning player in the MLB is also a pitcher . Washington Nationals ' Max Scherzer earned a salary of 37.41 million U.S. dollars during the 2019 season . The highest non-pitcher on the list was Miguel Cabrera in sixth spot . The Venezuelan first baseman for the Detroit Tigers took home a salary of 30 million U.S. dollars in 2019 .
