The MLB deals returning the least per dollar — high salaries carrying a weak Contract Value Index grade.
Baseball’s long, guaranteed contracts make the misses expensive and hard to escape. The deals on this page are the ones our grading flags hardest: above-market salaries carrying a weak Contract Value Index (CVI) grade.
It is a value read, not a talent take. A former All-Star deep into a nine-figure deal can land here when the production no longer matches the dollars — and with no cap to soften it, that gap sits on the books year after year.
Think of it as a payroll-risk watchlist: the contracts most likely to become a sunk cost a front office has to win around rather than with.
Across the 20 most overpaid MLB contracts on the board, teams have committed about $288.9M per year for the weakest returns our grading sees, with SP the position most often flagged.
Salary figures are average annual value. Cuts and releases are excluded — the Contract Value Index is not a valid signal on a non-contract move. Grades reflect value to the team, not raw talent.
Above-median MLB salaries paired with the weakest Contract Value Index (CVI) grades. Ranked by how far the grade falls, then by the size of the commitment.
| # | Player | Avg / Yr | CVI |
|---|
| 1 | Nolan Arenado3B · Diamondbacks | $32.5M | F F |
| 2 | Dansby SwansonSS · Cubs | $25.3M | F F |
| 3 | Sean ManaeaSP · Mets | $25.0M | F F |
| 4 | Marcus Semien2B · Mets | $25.0M | F F |
| 5 | Joc Pederson1B · Rangers | $18.5M | F F |
| 6 | Masataka YoshidaLF · Red Sox | $18.0M | F F |
| 7 | Taijuan WalkerSP · Phillies | $18.0M | F F |
| 8 | Lance McCullers Jr.SP · Astros | $17.0M | F F |
| 9 | Andres Gimenez2B · Blue Jays | $15.2M | F F |
| 10 | Salvador PerezC · Royals | $12.5M | F F |
| 11 | Ryan McMahon3B · Yankees | $11.7M | F F |
| 12 | Antonio SenzatelaSP · Rockies | $10.1M | F F |
| 13 | Reynaldo LopezSP · Braves | $10.0M | F F |
| 14 | Ezequiel TovarSS · Rockies | $9.1M | F F |
| 15 | Ke'bryan Hayes3B · Reds | $8.8M | F F |
| 16 | Victor CaratiniC · Twins | $7.0M | F F |
| 17 | Drew AndersonRP · Tigers | $7.0M | F F |
| 18 | Keibert RuizC · Nationals | $6.3M | F F |
| 19 | Mauricio Dubon2B · Braves | $6.1M | F F |
| 20 | Anthony KayRP · White Sox | $6.0M | F F |
A contract lands here when a team is paying above-median money for one of the weakest Contract Value Index (CVI) grades on the board — a lot spent for light return. It is not a verdict on the player’s talent; a great player on a market-resetting deal can still grade as overpaid if the dollars outrun the value. Read the full methodology.