MLB’s 25 biggest bargains in 2025: Where does Shohei Ohtani rank?
Just a year after Shohei Ohtani signed an awe-inspiring $700 million contract that redefined what anyone thought possible, that record-setting deal was already shattered.
In light of Juan Soto's $765 million contract with the Mets, we have a new benchmark and understanding for a superstar's potential worth. With that comes a different appreciation for the value that some of baseball's top talents are providing on the multiyear pacts they've signed.
Surely, Rōki Sasaki will soon be among MLB's biggest discounts. For now, though, which team-friendly signings and extensions look like the top bargain deals?
The rankings below take into account the entire length of the contract, including the player's performance to this point in the deal, how much value the player is expected to provide in 2025 and how the contract is likely to age. There's some subjectiveness to it, but wins above replacement provide a good starting point. Unless otherwise indicated, the WAR totals provided below are from Baseball-Reference.
A couple of ground rules: Only players who've received multi-year extensions or free-agent contracts were included (that means no arbitration-eligible players, no pre-arb players and no one-year deals), and players have to have already started their contract to be included (sorry, Cristopher Sánchez).
While there are a lot of star contracts that fans are surely thrilled with, these are the 25 biggest bargains entering the 2025 season.
25. Andrés Muñoz, Seattle Mariners, RP
Terms: Four years, $7.5M (2022-25) plus club options in 2026 ($6 million), 2027 ($8 million) and 2028 ($10 million)
AAV: $1.9M
2025 salary: $2.5M
2024 WAR: 2.0
WAR accumulated through contract: 4.1
Age in 2025: 26
It's understandable if you think relievers shouldn't make this kind of list, but you'll find two exceptions here. One just finished top three in Cy Young voting. The other is Muñoz, whose 4.1 WAR through the first three years of his deal are nearly equal to the $4.5 million he has earned in that time after signing an extension before the 2022 season. The contract covers his arbitration years, and if he remains one of the better relievers in the game, the Mariners can still get him at a discounted rate for his first three free-agent years.
24. Nico Hoerner, Chicago Cubs, 2B/SS
Terms: Three years, $35M (2024-26)
AAV: $11.7M
2025 salary: $11.5M
2024 WAR: 3.7
WAR accumulated through contract: 3.7
Age in 2025: 28
You have a pretty good idea what you're going to get out from Hoerner — elite defense and base-stealing coupled with league-average offense. That's been good enough for him to be a 3-6 WAR talent through his prime and well worth the $11.5 million he is set to earn in 2025 in what would have been his first free-agent year.
23. Ezequiel Tovar, Colorado Rockies, SS
Terms: Seven years, $63.5M (2024-30) plus club option in 2031 ($23M)
AAV: $9.07M
2025 salary: $4.2M
2024 WAR: 3.8
WAR accumulated through contract: 3.4
Age in 2025: 23
The reason players such as Bryce Harper, Fernando Tatis and Will Smith fell just outside this list is because those deals look like incredible bargains now, but might not look quite so advantageous once we reach the 2030s. Tovar, who just got down-ballot MVP votes in his age-22 season, should continue to get better as this deal progresses. His elite defense provides a solid floor and mitigates some of the concerns about his swing decisions. He would've been under club control through 2028. With this new deal, getting at least two free-agent years for an AAV under $10 million in his prime should be great value. And if he's a star by 2030, that $23 million club option in 2031 will be worth the cost.
22. Seth Lugo, Kansas City Royals, SP
Terms: Two years, $30M (2024-25) plus player option in 2026 ($15M)
AAV: $15M
2025 salary: $15M
2024 WAR: 5.3
WAR accumulated through contract: 5.3
Age in 2025: 35
The Royals took a chance on Lugo after a successful transition from the bullpen in San Diego, and the 34-year-old put together the most productive season of his career while making just $15 million. Considering the number of pitches in Lugo's repertoire, and that he doesn't rely on velocity to produce, he should remain productive through the short-term deal, even if he doesn't finish second in Cy Young voting again.
21. Logan Webb, San Francisco Giants, SP
Terms: Five years, $90M (2024-28)
AAV: $18M
2025 salary: $12M
2024 WAR: 3.7
WAR accumulated through contract: 3.7
Age in 2025: 28
Since the start of the 2021 season, Webb and Aaron Nola are tied for fourth among all starting pitchers with 17.7 fWAR apiece. Nola, who is entering his age-32 season, signed a seven-year, $172 million extension ($24.6 million AAV) with the Phillies before the 2024 season. Webb, who is entering his age-28 season, signed a five-year, $90 million extension ($18 million AAV) and will only cost $12 million in 2025 in what would have been his final year of arbitration. He'll make about double that every year for the last three years of the deal, but that still looks like a bargain compared to what most pitchers of his caliber would get in free agency.
20. Sandy Alcántara, Miami Marlins, SP
Terms: Five years, $56M (2022-26) plus club option in 2027 ($21M)
AAV: $11.2M
2025 salary: $17.3M
2024 WAR: N/A
WAR accumulated through contract: 11.4
Age in 2025: 29
Alcántara has already missed one of the five seasons on this deal, and yet it still looks like one of the most team-friendly extensions in the sport, given how terrific his 8.0-WAR Cy Young season was to start the contract in 2022. Alcántara hoped to return from Tommy John surgery at some point late last year, and while that didn't happen, he'll be back on the mound in 2025. If he can get anywhere close to replicating his previous form, the $11.2 million AAV will look well worth the cost — whether it's in Miami or with a contending club that would be thrilled to inherit the rest of that contract.
19. Yandy Díaz, Tampa Bay Rays, 1B
Terms: Three years, $24M (2023-25) plus club option in 2026 ($12M)
AAV: $8M
2025 salary: $10M
2024 WAR: 1.6
WAR accumulated through contract: 6.8
Age in 2025: 33
Díaz would have been a free agent in 2025 if not for the three-year extension he signed before the 2023 season. That year alone — he produced a 5.2-WAR All-Star 2023 season while leading the American League with a .330 batting average — made his $24 million contract worth it. If he can find that form again after taking a step back last year, the Rays (or whichever team ends up with him) can keep him for $12 million in 2026, a modest price for an above-average offensive talent.
18. Luis Robert Jr., Chicago White Sox, OF
Terms: Six years, $50M (2020-25) plus club options in 2026 ($20M) and 2027 ($20M)
AAV: $8.5M
2025 salary: $15M
2024 WAR: 1.4
WAR accumulated through contract: 13.9
Age in 2025: 27
Robert's production to this point, even after taking a disappointing 2024 season, already made his contract worth the price. While his $15 million salary this season doesn't look like such a bargain anymore, his AAV is about half that amount, which makes the 27-year-old an attractive trade chip. If he can get his strikeout rate down to a more tenable level or get anywhere close to his 2023 All-Star form (whether for the White Sox or another team) again, the $20 million club options in 2026 and 2027 would be palatable. If he doesn't, the team can just move on.
17. Spencer Strider, Atlanta Braves, SP
Terms: Six years, $75M (2023-28) plus club option in 2029 ($22M)
AAV: $12.5M
2025 salary: $4M
2024 WAR: N/A
WAR accumulated through contract: 3.2
Age in 2025: 26
We've reached the Atlanta rotation portion of the program. Strider was making $1 million in the first year of his six-year deal in 2023 when the All-Star went 20-5 with the highest strikeout rate among all qualified starters. He only got two starts into his 2024 season before requiring a UCL repair, so it's hard to know exactly what to expect upon his return. Still, it's reasonable to assume he should significantly outproduce the $4 million he is set to earn. There's some risk here once his salary rises to $20-plus million in 2026, but a $12.5 million AAV for a potential Cy Young winner is a chance most teams would be thrilled to take.
16. Reynaldo López, Atlanta Braves, SP
Terms: Three years, $30M (2025-27)
AAV: $10M
2025 salary: $8M
2024 WAR: 5.1
WAR accumulated through contract: 5.1
Age in 2025: 31
Technically, López's reworked contract starts in 2025, but because it was a restructuring of the three-year, $30 million pact he signed before the 2024 season — the Braves guaranteed his club option in 2027 in exchange for taking less money next season — we'll make an exception and include him here. Only two pitchers started more than 20 games with a sub-2.00 ERA in 2024. One was Rookie of the Year Paul Skenes. The other was López, who rewarded the Braves' faith after they made him a starter again. He produced a 5.1-WAR season while making just $4 million in 2024. Considering he hadn't been a full-time starter in five years, it'll be interesting to see how he holds up after taking on that added workload.
15. Chris Sale, Atlanta Braves, LHP
Terms: Two years, $38M (2024-25) plus club option in 2026 ($18M)
AAV: $19M
2025 salary: $22M
2024 WAR: 6.2
WAR accumulated through contract: 6.2
Age in 2025: 36
The best pitchers in baseball are going for more than $30 million per season. Sale, meanwhile, just won the pitching triple crown while making $16 million in 2024. Even as his contract calls for a raise to $22 million in 2025, teams would gladly pay that after watching what he did last year.
14. Jackson Chourio, Milwaukee Brewers, OF
Terms: Eight years, $82M (2024-31) plus club options in 2032 ($25M) and 2033 ($25M)
AAV: $10.3M
2025 salary: $4.3M
2024 WAR: 3.8
WAR accumulated through contract: 3.8
Age in 2025: 21
Now, to the promising young outfielders. Prior to Chourio's extension, Robert held the record for the largest contract given to a player before his MLB debut. Chourio shattered it — and with good reason. The 20-year-old did not look overmatched while finishing third in Rookie of the Year voting. Already an above-average hitter, fielder and runner, it looks like Milwaukee has a star for the next decade at a discounted rate.
13. Julio Rodríguez, Seattle Mariners, OF
Terms: 12 years, $209.3M (2023-29); including 2030-34 player options ($18M annual); conditional club options after 2029 (eight or 10 years)
AAV: $17.4M
2025 salary: $20.2M
2024 WAR: 4.3
WAR accumulated through contract: 9.6
Age in 2025: 24
There are a number of different possible iterations to this deal, which will be determined by Rodríguez's performance over the next decade. The Mariners have a club option after the 2028 season, for either eight or 10 years, worth anywhere from $200 million to $350 million based on his MVP finishes. If the Mariners turn that down, Rodríguez has a five-year player option worth anywhere from $90 million to $125 million based on All-Star appearances and Silver Slugger awards won in the first eight years of the deal.
To put it as simply as possible, the base deal is for $119.3 million for seven years, but he's guaranteed $210 million with the possibility of maxing out as high as $470 million. If he does max that out, it's likely because he has fulfilled his massive potential and is perennially one of the top talents in the game. It's the most lucrative deal Seattle has ever given out, but the position-player-starved club should be thrilled to have a player of his caliber for a CBT hit of just over $17 million.
12. Michael Harris II, Atlanta Braves, OF
Terms: Eight years, $72M (2023-30) plus club options in 2031 ($15M) and 2032 ($20M)
AAV: $9M
2025 salary: $8M
2024 WAR: 3.2
WAR accumulated through contract: 6.6
Age in 2025: 24
Other team-friendly contracts in Atlanta might get more attention, but this one shouldn't get lost in the shuffle. Over the past three years, only four center fielders have been worth more fWAR than Harris, even after a down year offensively in 2024. While chase is part of his game, and he's not going to walk much, the underlying numbers suggested some bad luck last season, and his elite defense provides a high floor. He's already one of the best players at his position in MLB, and he won't even be making $10 million for another four years. Any risk Atlanta assumed by inking him to a long-term deal just 71 games into his big-league career appears to be well worth it now. Expect better things ahead in 2025 and beyond.
11. Freddy Peralta, Milwaukee Brewers, SP
Terms: Five years, $15.5M (2020-24) plus $8M club options in 2025 (exercised) & 2026
AAV: $3.1M
2025 salary: $8M
2024 WAR: 2.6
WAR accumulated through contract: 9.8
Age in 2025: 29
Whatever Peralta does this year, his deal is already one of the biggest bargains in MLB. From 2020 to 2024, the only pitcher to throw 500 innings with a higher strikeout rate than Peralta was Blake Snell. Throughout that time, the Brewers paid a total of $15.5 million for Peralta's services. Needless to say, Milwaukee picked up the $8 million club option on Peralta for 2025 after he hit the 200-strikeout mark for the second straight season and recorded a sub-4.00 ERA for the fifth straight year.
10. Emmanuel Clase, Cleveland Guardians, RP
Terms: Five years, $20M (2022-26) plus club options in 2027 ($10M) & 2028 ($10M)
AAV: $4M
2025 salary: $4.9M
2024 WAR: 4.4
WAR accumulated through contract: 7.8
Age in 2025: 27
You can debate whether relievers should be put in the top 10, but I'm making Clase an exception. He just finished third in Cy Young voting while tallying a 0.61 ERA and leading the American League in saves for the third straight season. Over those three years, the Guardians have paid $6.7 million for 7.8 WAR. If we're strictly talking about the value a player provides, it doesn't get much better than that. Most teams would be happy to pay him a total of $20 million over two seasons. The Guardians are paying that amount over five, then have the option of keeping him in Cleveland for $10 million apiece in 2027 and 2028, which would have been his first two free-agent years. Even as a reliever, this is one of the best pitching bargains in baseball.
9. Ketel Marte, Arizona Diamondbacks, 2B
Terms: Five years, $76M (2023-27) plus club option in 2028 ($13M)
AAV: $15.2M
2025 salary: $16.6M
2024 WAR: 6.8
WAR accumulated through contract: 11.7
Age in 2025: 31
In March 2018, coming off a season in Arizona in which he hit below league average, the Diamondbacks displayed their belief in Marte by giving the 24-year-old a five-year, $24 million extension. Marte rewarded general manager Mike Hazen's faith then — he was an All-Star in 2019 when he launched 32 homers and accumulated 6.9 WAR — and now he's doing so again. At 30 years old last season, Marte barreled the ball more consistently than ever before while posting career highs in homers and RBIs and finishing third in MVP voting. He has been one of the best second basemen in baseball the past two years, yet his AAV is about $10 million cheaper than the going rate for that kind of a player.
8. Corbin Carroll, Arizona Diamondbacks, OF
Terms: Eight years, $111M (2023-30) plus 2031 club option ($28M)
AAV: $13.9M
2025 salary: $5.6M
2024 WAR: 3.4
WAR accumulated through contract: 8.8
Age in 2025: 24
Carroll's extension was the largest contract ever given to a player with fewer than 100 days service time, buying out his arbitration years plus at least two free-agent seasons and breaking the record the Braves gave Harris. For the first year, it looked like one of the biggest steals in the sport. The 2024 season was more inauspicious, however, and you have to wonder if his balky shoulder will continue to impact his offensive output.
Still, his second half was encouraging, his speed and defense give him a high floor, and the potential is there for Carroll — who has 47 homers and 89 steals the past two seasons — to be one of the top position players in the sport for the next decade. If he fulfills those expectations, having what would have been those first couple free-agent seasons for less than $30 million per year will be a bargain.
7. Hunter Greene, Cincinnati Reds, SP
Terms: Six years, $53M (2023-28) plus club option in 2029 ($21M)
AAV: $8.8M
2025 salary: $6.3M
2024 WAR: 6.3
WAR accumulated through contract: 7.2
Age in 2025: 25
The first two years of Greene's big-league career were all about potential. In 2024, he began to fulfill it. By bWAR (6.3), he was the most valuable pitcher in the National League, and he was only making a tick over $3 million. There are performance escalators that could max this contract out at closer to $95 million, but Greene is due to make less than $10 million until 2027 when his contract balloons to $15 million, a number teams would gladly pay for a player of his caliber. Greene would have been a free agent in 2028 if not for the extension — the largest the Reds have ever given to a player before he reaches arbitration. To now have him that year for $16 million and have the option to keep him in 2029 for $21 million looks like a prudent call before Greene stands to cash in again.
6. Bobby Witt Jr., Kansas City Royals, SS
Terms: 11 years, $288.8M (2024-34); opt-outs after 2030, 2031, 2032, 2033; club option 2035-37 ($89M)
AAV: $26.3M
2025 salary: $7.7M
2024 WAR: 9.4
WAR accumulated through contract: 9.4
Age in 2025: 25
Soto just put together a career-best 7.9 WAR season and will now carry a $51 million AAV for the next 15 years. Witt, meanwhile, just compiled a 9.4 WAR season in one of the best all-around years from a shortstop ever, will make $7.7 million in 2025 and will carry an AAV that's about half of Soto's. He was worth 3.4 WAR for every $1 million he earned last season. It's tremendous value right now, and it should continue to be, even as his salary rockets up to more than $30 million per season starting in 2028, which would have been his first free-agent year.
It's possible this only ends up a seven-year, $148-million pact — Witt has a flurry of opt-outs available to him after the 2030 season — but even if he doesn't stay for all 11 years, the largest contract in Royals franchise history has made Kansas City relevant for the foreseeable future and looks well worth the cost to keep the superstar in town through his 20s. There are five MLB shortstops with a higher AAV than Witt in 2025. There are none with a brighter future.
5. José Ramírez, Cleveland Guardians, 3B
Terms: Seven years, $141M (2022-28)
AAV: $20.1M
2025 salary: $19M
2024 WAR: 6.8
WAR accumulated through contract: 17.9
Age in 2025: 32
Here's a deal that didn't take much projecting. Everyone knew Ramírez was leaving tens of millions on the table when he decided to stay in Cleveland with his most recent extension, which was the largest in franchise history and still a massive bargain. Now, the Guardians continue to reap the rewards of employing one of the best baseball players on the planet. While it remains to be seen if he can continue to play this way through his 30s, the six-time All-Star is showing no signs of slowing down and is consistently one of the top superstars in the game. Ramírez has produced between 5-7 WAR each of the past four years, and by fWAR, has been one of the five most valuable position players in baseball since 2017.
4. Yordan Álvarez, Houston Astros, OF/DH
Terms: Six years, $115M (2023-28)
AAV: 19.2M
2025 salary: $15.8M
2024 WAR: 5.4
WAR accumulated through contract: 10.0
Age in 2025: 28
Given all he's accomplished already, it's easy to forget Álvarez is only 27 years old. Over the past three years, he has hit 88%, 70% and 72% better than league average by OPS. In that time, he ranks in the top 10 in WAR, top three in OPS and second behind only Aaron Judge in wRC+. Assuming he stays close to those marks in 2025, when he'll make just $15.8 million — a sum that's less than teammates José Altuve, Christian Walker, Josh Hader, Framber Valdez and Lance McCullers Jr. — a massive payday would have awaited.
Instead, the Astros prudently extended him and bought out what would have been his first three free-agent years for less than $27 million per year. (How many teams would line up at the door to pay Álvarez three years and $80 million in free agency?) Now, the Astros have one of the most feared hitters in baseball at an AAV under $20 million. That production is all the more important, too, with Kyle Tucker now in Chicago. As long as he can stay on the field, this should represent extraordinary value throughout the entirety of the deal.
3. Ozzie Albies, Atlanta Braves, 2B
Terms: Seven years, $35M (2019-25) plus club options in 2026 ($7M) and 2027 ($7M)
AAV: $5M
2025 salary: $7M
2024 WAR: 1.6
WAR accumulated through contract: 16.3
Age in 2025: 28
This deal was such an obvious coup from the start that it almost felt cruel. And even though Albies has been unable to consistently stay on the field or perform to the level of others on this list, he has still (to no one's surprise) far outplayed the contract he signed. Albies would have been eligible for arbitration after the 2020 season and for free agency after the 2023 season, when he was a 4.7-WAR player and an All-Star for the third time. A nine-figure sum would almost certainly have awaited him.
Had Albies let that process play out rather than signing this extension, it's more than reasonable to think he would now be making three times as much as he will be in 2025. Instead, the Braves paid him $7 million in 2024 and will do so again this coming season. They have the option to continue paying him that amount in 2026 and 2027. Even after a down year for Albies, the cost is absurdly low and the risk is minimal.
2. Ronald Acuña Jr., Atlanta Braves, OF
Terms: Eight years, $100M (2019-26) plus club options in 2027 ($17M) and 2028 ($17M)
AAV: $12.5M
2025 salary: $17M
2024 WAR: 0.0 (played 49 games)
WAR accumulated through contract: 21.9
Age in 2025: 27
The majority of this list could have just been the Braves roster. Before the 2024 season, Acuña's contract would have ranked No. 1. And if we're strictly talking about value on the field, it might still be, although there's at least more of a question now about how he will perform going forward after his unusually poor start to the 2024 campaign was cut short due to his second ACL tear in three years. Still, even if he doesn't get back to his previous record-setting combination of speed and power, this contract is already arguably the biggest steal in the game. If he does return to peak form, the Braves get to keep (another) one of the most talented players in the sport at a significant discount through his 20s.
1. Shohei Ohtani, Los Angeles Dodgers, DH/SP
Terms: 10 years, $700M (2024-33); $680 million deferred until 2034
AAV: $46M
2025 salary: $2M ($70M with $68M deferred)
2024 WAR: 9.2
WAR accumulated through contract: 9.2
Age in 2025: 30
How does a $700 million contract take the top spot on a bargains list? When less than 3% of it will be paid over the next 10 years. Ohtani just became the first 50/50 player in MLB history and was worth almost 10 WAR despite exclusively being a designated hitter, and he made only $2 million in 2024. The massive deferrals in his contract — $68 million per year — lowered the present-day value of his deal to $460 million, which dropped his AAV to $46 million and helped the Dodgers build a championship roster around him. Given his unrivaled influence, his unprecedented contract provides unparalleled value in both the baseball and business sense.
Assuming the Dodgers invest all of his deferred money wisely (and taking into account the numerous sales, marketing and sponsorship revenue streams he creates with his global appeal), the deal should ultimately pay for itself. The Dodgers announced eight different multiyear partnerships with Japanese-based companies within the first two months of the 2024 season after signing Ohtani, and companies were even buying ad space in visiting stadiums when the Dodgers hit the road to get in on the money machine. Taking everything into account, Ohtani already looks well worth what was, for one year, the largest contract in MLB history. And he hasn't even pitched yet.
Honorable Mentions: Shōta Imanaga, Freddie Freeman, Bryce Harper, Will Smith, Fernando Tatís Jr., JP Crawford, Ke'Bryan Hayes, Max Muncy, Bryan Reynolds, Luke Weaver, Erick Fedde
Rowan Kavner is an MLB writer for FOX Sports. He previously covered the L.A. Dodgers, LA Clippers and Dallas Cowboys. An LSU grad, Rowan was born in California, grew up in Texas, then moved back to the West Coast in 2014. Follow him on Twitter at @RowanKavner.
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