The average Major League Baseball salary will cross the $4 million threshold when the regular season begins next week.
According to an Associated Press analysis, the average salary is projected to be about $4.25 million in 2015. Topping the list is Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw at $31 million, followed by Detroit Tigers pitcher Justin Verlander at $28 million, Dodgers pitcher Zack Greinke at $27 million and Angels outfielder Josh Hamilton at $25.4 million.
The Dodgers have baseball’s biggest payroll at about approximately $270 million.
The average salary last year was $3.95 million on opening day and $3.65 million in 2013.
—Washington Nationals third baseman Anthony Rendon is getting a third opinion on his injured right knee that was originally diagnosed as an MCL sprain.
Rendon was scheduled to visit Dr. Steven Singleton at the Steadman Clinic in Vail, Colo., on Tuesday for an examination after an appointment with noted orthopedist Dr. James Andrews on Monday confirmed the initial diagnosis.
Rendon was injured in a March 9 game against the Atlanta Braves while making a diving stop. He has not played since then, but the knee remains sore after rest and treatment.
—For the second straight season, the Baltimore Orioles will hand to the ball to right-hander Chris Tillman for the Opening Day start.
Tillman received the nod over Wei-Yin Chen and Bud Norris for the April 6 game against the Tampa Bay Rays, becoming the first Orioles pitcher to start back-to-back openers since Jeremy Guthrie in 2008-09.
Tillman, 26, finished last season with a 13-6 record and a 3.34 ERA in 34 starts covering 207 1/3 innings. He surpassed 200 innings for the second consecutive season.
—Grady Sizemore could open the season as the right fielder for the Philadelphia Phillies, who will be without Dominic Brown for the start of the season.
Brown was informed Tuesday that he will be placed on the disabled list before the Phillies open the season Monday (April 6) because of tendinitis in his left Achilles. Brown has been injured since March 19.
Sizemore, Jordan Danks, Jeff Francoeur, Russ Canzler and Brian Bogusevic are competing for the start in right field. The roster for Opening Day is not set until Sunday.
The Phillies also released right-hander Kevin Slowey on Tuesday.
—The commissioner’s office suspended pitcher Jose Mijares for 50 games without pay on Tuesday for violating the minor league’s drug prevention and treatment program.
Mijares, a free agent left-hander, tested positive a second time for a drug of abuse. The suspension will begin immediately after he signs with a major league organization.
The 30-year-old last pitched in the major leagues for the San Francisco Giants in 2013. In two seasons with the Giants, he appeared in 138 games and had a 3-5 record. In parts of six seasons as a reliever with the Minnesota Twins and the Giants, he has a 6-11 record and a 3.26 ERA in 259 innings. He was released by the Cincinnati Reds on March 23 after posting a 5.06 ERA in 5 1/3 innings this spring.
