
1. Chris Davis
Chris Davis is officially retired but is still number one on this list. The former Orioles slugger averaged 39 home runs per season from 2012-2016, including hitting as many as 53 in 2013. Davis wasn’t much of a name until that season when he broke out in Baltimore and became a star.
Before the 2016 season, Davis cashed in. He signed a seven-year $161 million dollar deal to stay in Baltimore. When this contract was signed, it included a lot of deferred money.
Unfortunately, the star years were short-lived. Davis had a pretty good 2016 season, hitting 38 home runs and having an OPS just shy of .800. After that, he fell off a cliff offensively. Things got so bad to the point where he endured a 54 at-bat hitless streak spanning from the end of 2018 to 2019.
Davis played in just 16 games in 2020 and retired in 2021 with more time on his contract.
The contract portion of the deal expires at the end of this season. After that, Davis will receive yearly checks from the Orioles for a long time in a Bobby Bonilla type of contract.
Davis is going to make $9.167 million dollars from 2023-2025. That number goes down to $3.5 million dollars from 2026-2032. After that, it goes to $1.4 million dollars from 2033-2037. Davis will receive $42 million dollars in total and will receive yearly checks until he is 51 years old, according to spotrac.com.
Davis was the highest-paid Oriole this season despite being retired by a wide margin and is on track to be the highest paid for the foreseeable future unless they decide to spend money.
Davis was a solid player for a grand total of one year that he is going to be receiving money from the Orioles since signing his extension.