Just how great of a “moneyball” story are this year’s Baltimore Orioles? So much so that the most expensive player on their payroll is a guy who hasn’t played for them in three years.
As noted by the @CodifyBaseball X (formerly known as Twitter) account, Baltimore’s highest-paid player is former first baseman Chris Davis. He’s making $14.83 million this year and is set to earn a whopping $56 million over the next 14 years.
In the 2016 offseason, Davis signed a massive seven-year extension with the Orioles worth $161 million. Davis last played for the Orioles in 2020, as injuries kept him sidelined for the entire 2021 season.
In August of that year, Davis decided to retire at the age of 35. The structure of his contract, however, will allow the two-time MLB home run leader to collect a nice paycheck over the next decade and a half.
According to Spotrac, veteran catcher James McCann is the most expensive player on Baltimore’s payroll with a salary of $12.5 million, followed by starting pitcher Kyle Gibson at $10 million. Infielder Adam Frazier is the third-most expensive player with a payroll salary of $8 million.
Davis was instrumental in helping the Orioles reach the postseason in 2012, 2014 and 2016. Though he had a high strikeout rate and low batting average (.230 in 10 years with Baltimore), he was a feared slugger with six seasons of 26-plus homers, including a career-high 53 in the 2013 season.
