What It Costs to Keep MLB's Can't-Miss Stars in 2026

What It Costs to Keep Baseball's Most Unmissable Players

In a sport built on depth and teamwork, certain players are guaranteed eyeballs - no matter the stakes. Following Will Leitch's recent roundup of the most must-watch player in each division, we went digging into what teams pay for those talents. The money behind greatness isn't just big - in some cases, it rewrites sports history.

AL East: Aaron Judge - Power Meets Payday

Aaron Judge is baseball's living highlight reel - gargantuan home runs, MVP hardware and a presence that makes every Yankees game appointment viewing. The price for that on-field force? A nine-year, $360 million contract signed in December 2022 that runs through 2031, with an annual salary around $40 million. Judge's annual pay places him among the highest-paid position players in the league.

Judge's contract reflects both his elite production and the Yankees' commitment to keeping fans glued to their seats - whether or not the team has reached October glory in every season.

AL Central: Tarik Skubal - Pitching Excellence With Money on the Line

Detroit's ace lefty Tarik Skubal has become a must-watch starter - back-to-back AL Cy Young Awards and a sub-2.50 ERA make every outing a spectacle. But reaching a long-term contract agreement remains unsettled.

For 2026, Skubal and the Detroit Tigers failed to agree on a salary, leading to arbitration. Skubal's camp filed for a record-setting $32 million figure, with the team countering at $19 million - a $13 million gap that could become the largest arbitration spread in MLB history if pushed to a hearing.

That wild negotiation highlights the balancing act teams face: reward elite pitching while managing payroll and future flexibility. It also signals a likely massive free-agency payday if Skubal reaches the open market after 2026.

AL West: Nick Kurtz - Rookie Thunder in Oakland

Nick Kurtz's rookie breakout with the A's - including a six-hit, four-home-run game - made him the most exciting bat in the division. While Kurtz hasn't signed a blockbuster extension yet, his pre-arbitration earnings are modest compared to the stars above. In 2025, he received a pre-arbitration bonus of about $1.3 million, typical for emerging young stars before they secure long-term deals.

Kurtz represents the future's value: electrifying production now, with a potential megadeal on the horizon if he continues to deliver.

NL East: Juan Soto - The New Benchmark

Juan Soto's bat isn't just fun to watch - it's historic in its value. Soto signed a 15-year, $765 million contract with the New York Mets, the largest in professional sports history by total value. The deal, averaging roughly $51 million per year, also includes a $75 million signing bonus and premium perks like luxury suite access and security provisions.

Soto's contract eclipses every other in MLB and underscores the lengths teams will go to secure a generational talent. Fans are paying attention - and so are the front offices.

NL Central: Paul Skenes - Future Ace, Present Value

On the mound for the Pittsburgh Pirates, Paul Skenes has already captivated the baseball world. Though still in the early phase of his career, his electrifying performances - including a sub-2.00 career ERA - make him a can't-miss name in the NL Central.

Unlike veterans, Skenes hasn't signed a mega multi-year deal yet, and his current pay is tied to early MLB compensation structures. But when his first contract extension arrives, it's expected to rank among the richest ever offered to a pitcher, tying financial reward to the kind of talent that keeps TVs tuned.

NL West: Shohei Ohtani - Two-Way Superstar and Wage Wizard

If you're tuning in for Ohtani, you're not alone. After rewriting baseball norms with his two-way excellence, Ohtani signed a 10-year, $700 million contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers. That deal remains one of the richest in MLB history.

What makes the contract especially fascinating: much of the cash is deferred. Ohtani receives only $2 million per year on the current payroll, with $680 million deferred over later years. In practical terms, it's a creative financial setup that lets the Dodgers invest in a generational talent while balancing competitive economics today.

Contracts That Tell a Story & What Teams Are Really Paying For

Here's a snapshot of these current stars' financial footprints:

• Social spectacle and brand engagement: Judge and Soto's contracts underscore baseball’s entertainment value.

• Pitcher negotiation dynamics: Skubal's arbitration battle signals shifting economics for elite arms.

• Future potential: Kurtz and Skenes show how teams balance rookie compensation with long-term growth.

• Creative financial structuring: Ohtani's Dodgers deal highlights out-of-the-box thinking for elite talent.

Why These Contracts Matter for Fans and Front Offices

Superstar contracts aren't just about paying great players. They're about allocating belief.

When a team commits nine figures - or, increasingly, three-quarters of a billion - it's making a long-term declaration about how it plans to compete, how it wants to be perceived, and how it intends to generate relevance in an attention economy that never sleeps.

For front offices, these deals sit at the intersection of performance modeling, revenue forecasting, risk tolerance, and ownership philosophy. A contract like Aaron Judge's isn't simply a bet on home runs; it's a bet on sustained gate appeal, YES Network ratings stability, merchandising dominance, and cultural continuity. The Yankees didn't just retain a player - they preserved an identity.

Juan Soto's record-setting deal with the Mets tells a different but equally revealing story. This wasn't about patching a roster hole. It was about signaling ambition. Ownership used financial scale as a competitive weapon, resetting expectations internally and externally. That contract reshapes how agents negotiate, how rivals plan, and how the franchise positions itself in the New York sports hierarchy for the next decade.

Shohei Ohtani's Dodgers agreement pushes the conversation even further. The structure itself is the story. Deferred money isn't a loophole - it's a strategy. It allows a contender to maintain roster flexibility while anchoring the franchise to the most globally marketable player baseball has ever produced. That deal is as much about international media rights, sponsorship lift, and long-term brand gravity as it is about wins above replacement.

On the pitching side, Tarik Skubal's arbitration standoff is a reminder that not all financial pressure points arrive via free agency. Arbitration cases quietly shape future labor dynamics, reset internal salary ladders, and influence how teams evaluate early extensions versus year-to-year risk. When a pitcher of Skubal's caliber pushes the ceiling, the ripple effects extend far beyond Detroit.

Then there are players like Paul Skenes and Nick Kurtz - the future balance sheet questions. Their current cost efficiency creates competitive windows, but it also forces front offices to plan several years ahead. Do you extend early and absorb risk? Do you wait and pay later? Do you build the roster assuming their eventual departure? These are organizational questions, not player ones.

For fans, these contracts define expectations. A superstar salary raises the emotional stakes of every at-bat and every start. It influences how patience is measured, how slumps are tolerated, and how success is judged. A big contract turns a player into a focal point - not just of the lineup, but of the entire franchise narrative.

Zoom out, and these deals collectively map where baseball is going. They show which skills the market values most, how teams are adapting to revenue realities, and how competitive advantage is increasingly tied to financial creativity as much as scouting and development.

This is the space Back Office Sports lives in - where the on-field spectacle meets the off-field decisions that shape it. The contracts tell a story. Our job is to read it clearly, connect the dots, and explain what it means before the next deal resets the market again.

Join the Conversation and Dig Deeper

Baseball's economics are moving as fast as balls off Judge's bat and sliders past Skubal's foes. Stay in the discussion, explore more contract deep dives, and get strategic insights with Back Office Sports.