65 players to earn $100,000 per game

NEW YORK» Mike Trout, Gerrit Cole, Nolan Arenado and Justin Verlander aren’t the only major leaguers with a big financial incentive to get back on the field.

While this starry quartet would take in more than $200,000 per game, 65 players would earn at least $100,000 each time their team wins or loses if the pandemic-delayed major league season get under way, according to an analysis of their contracts by The Associated Press.

Most rookies and those making the minimum would get nearly $3,500 each. Every game added to the big league schedule earns players about $24 million in aggregate.

Clubs would benefit, too, with huge revenue streams flowing from regional sports networks and national broadcast contracts. A contentious negotiation is likely if Major League Baseball asks the players’ association to accept salary cuts to compensate for playing in empty parks.

“I would need to be fully informed about revenue and things like that before I would decide if I think it’s fair for us to do that,” Washington first baseman Ryan Zimmerman said. “I know the owners make a lot of money . ... We’re in such a unique situation. People want to play. People want to get back on the field.”

“If there ever was a time where two sides that have obviously argued in the past could get along and get things done, now would be the time,” he added. “That being said, I’m not going to sit here and say the players would be willing to do that. I don’t even know if I would be willing to do that.”

Zimmerman, 35, has a $2 million salary and would get $12,346 per game.

Trout, the 28-year-old Angels star who has won three AL MVP awards, has a $36 million salary. He is tied for the major league high with Cole, the 29-year-old right-hander who left Houston as a free agent to sign with the New York Yankees. That works out to $222,222 for each game of the 162-game season.

Colorado third baseman Nolan Arenado is third at $216,049 per game, followed by Houston right-hander Justin Verlander at $203,704. Next is left-hander David Price, acquired by the Los Angeles Dodgers from Boston in February, at $197,531.