Forbes Reveal MLB’s Most Overpaid Players

Forbes has compiled a list of Major League Baseball’s (MLB) most overpaid players by position with St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Kyle Lohse and Houston Astros outfielder Carlos Lee providing the least reward for their pay in 2010.

The VORP score which was used to single out the underachieving mega stars uses myriad stats to measure a player’s productivity over and above that of a minimum salaried rookie.

At First Base, Colorado Rockies’ Todd Helton earns a salary of US$16.6m and with a VORP of 4.6, is overpaid by $13.7m.

At Second Base, New York Mets’ Luis Castillo earns a salary of $6m and with a VORP of -2.2, is overpaid by $6.8m.

In at Shortstop, the New York Yankees’ Derek Jeter earns a salary of $22.5m and despite a VORP of 27.3, is overpaid by $7.5m.

The Yankees’ Alex Rodriguez is also in the side at Third Base, earning a salary of $32m. His VORP of 36.1 means that according to Forbes, he is overpaid by $12.3m.

In the Outfield, the aforementioned Carlos Lee of the Houston Astros earns a salary of $18.5m, but with a VORP of just 1.3, is overpaid by $17.4m.

Joining Lee in the Outfield is New York Mets’ Carlos Beltran who also earns $18.5m. His greater VORP of 10.5 in contrast to Lee means he is overpaid slightly less at $12.5m.

The final Outfielder is the San Francisco Giants’ Aaron Rowand earning a salary of $12m. His dismal VORP of -1.6 means he is also overpaid by $12.5m.

Detroit Tigers’ Catcher Gerard Laird is the league’s least profitable in terms of results, earning a $4m salary, pitching in with a VORP of -10.1, being overpaid by $9m.

Cardinals Starting Pitcher Lohse has the worst VORP of the team at -22 and with a salary of $8.8m, is overpaid by a whopping $20m.

Finally, Relief Pitcher Trevor Hoffman of the Milwaukee Brewers completes the side, earning $7.5m but returning with a VORP of -4.2, meaning he is overpaid by $9.3m.