Top 10 Most Overpaid Players In MLB In 2025
1. Anthony Rendon – 3B, Los Angeles Angels
Contract: 7 years, $245 million (2026 free agent)
2025 Salary: $38.6M | WAR: 0.0 (has not played)
Once a postseason hero for the Nationals, Rendon’s Angels tenure has been defined by injuries. Since 2021, he’s played just 205 games, hitting .231 with a .666 OPS. This year, he hasn’t taken the field at all following hip surgery, yet remains one of the highest-paid players in the league.
2. Christian Walker – 1B, Houston Astros
Contract: 3 years, $60 million (2027 free agent)
2025 Salary: $20M | WAR: -0.5
Signed to anchor first base after losing key bats, Walker hasn’t delivered his Gold Glove-caliber defense or his .800 OPS from Arizona. A midseason surge has helped, but for most of 2025, he’s been a $20 million disappointment.
3. DJ LeMahieu – 2B, Formerly New York Yankees
Contract: 6 years, $90 million (2026 free agent)
2025 Salary: $15M | WAR: 0.7 (released)
A three-time All-Star and four-time Gold Glover, LeMahieu’s Yankees run ended in July when the club released him despite owing his full salary. Once a batting title threat, he hit just .266 with little power before losing his spot to Jazz Chisholm Jr.
4. Carlos Correa – SS, Minnesota Twins/Houston Astros
Contract: 6 years, $200 million (2028 free agent)
2025 Salary: $27.6M | WAR: 0.1
Correa’s .704 OPS in Minnesota was one of the biggest reasons for the Twins’ midseason fire sale. Traded back to Houston, he’s suddenly raking again, but with Minnesota still paying a chunk of his contract, the sting remains.
5. Michael Conforto – LF, Los Angeles Dodgers
Contract: 1 year, $17 million (2025 free agent)
2025 Salary: $17M | WAR: -0.6
Conforto’s inconsistency followed him from San Francisco to L.A., but 2025 has been his worst year yet - batting just .187 with prolonged slumps. With outfield reinforcements on the mend, he could be waived before season’s end.
6. Nick Castellanos – RF, Philadelphia Phillies
Contract: 5 years, $100 million (2026 free agent)
2025 Salary: $20M | WAR: -0.9
Offensively, Castellanos is average. Defensively, he’s been the league’s worst right fielder by advanced metrics. Unless the Phillies move him to DH, his glove could continue to cost them games.
7. Kris Bryant – DH, Colorado Rockies
Contract: 7 years, $182 million (2028 free agent)
2025 Salary: $27M | WAR: -0.5
Bryant’s time in Colorado has been plagued by injuries and decline. He’s appeared in only 170 games since 2022 and remains out with a back issue, with three expensive years left on his deal.
8. Blake Snell – SP, Los Angeles Dodgers
Contract: 5 years, $182 million (2029 free agent)
2025 Salary: $36.4M | WAR: 0.1
Snell missed four months with injury and has only recently returned. While his strikeouts are back, his limited innings make him one of the least productive high-paid starters so far this season.
9. Yu Darvish – SP, San Diego Padres
Contract: 6 years, $108 million (2028 free agent)
2025 Salary: $21M | WAR: -0.2
Darvish turns 39 this week and has battled elbow inflammation. While he showed flashes of his old self in July, his 5.61 ERA and three years remaining on his contract make this deal look worse by the day.
10. Ryan Pressly – RP, Chicago Cubs
Contract: 2 years, $30 million (2026 free agent)
2025 Salary: $16.5M | WAR: -0.6
Pressly’s season featured one disastrous outing (8 ER without recording an out) that inflated his ERA, followed by a collapse in July leading to his release from the Cubs.
Photo Credit: Brian Fluharty-Imagn Images
