Average salary rises 4.4% to $4.4 million

Baseball’s average salary rose 4.4% to $4.38 million on opening day, according to a study of contract terms by The Associated Press, with the Los Angeles Dodgers topping spending for the third straight season with a payroll of $233.9 million.

The Chicago Cubs boosted payroll by $51 million, adding Jason Heyward, John Lackey and Ben Zobrist in an effort to win their first title since 1908.

After losing to the Kansas City Royals in the World Series, the New York Mets hiked spending by nearly $38 million.

The Houston Astros raised payroll by almost $26 million after starting last season with the lowest in the major leagues, and the St. Louis Cardinals also rose by nearly the same amount.

Among rebuilding teams, the Philadelphia Phillies cut spending by $43 million and the Cincinnati Reds by nearly $27 million.

The average salary for the 864 players on opening-day rosters, the disabled list and the restricted list was $4,381,980, and the percentage increase was the lowest since a 4.1% rise in 2012.

Dodgers have 10 on DL:

The Dodgers open the season with 10 players on the disabled list, likely a record, after catcher Yasmani Grandal and infielder Howie Kendrick were placed on the 15-day DL Sunday.

Major League Baseball said the total was the most since 2002, the earliest records were readily available. The previous high since then had been the 2012 Boston Red Sox with nine.

Reds starters to DL: The Reds placed four starters on the disabled list Sunday, including top returning pitcher Anthony DeSclafani, as part of their moves to get to the 25-man roster limit.

DeScalafani, left-hander John Lamb, and right-handers Michael Lorenzen and Jon Moscot were expected to compete for the rotation. Moscot is recovering from surgery on a back disc.