A-Rod Salary Astros, Alex Rodriguez will make more this year than all the Houston Astros combined - a lot more.
And he won't even play the first half of the season, if at all.
A-Rod's $29 million salary tops the major leagues for the 13th straight season, according to a study of major league contracts.
Rodriguez's Yankees are on track to have the highest payroll on opening day for the 15th straight year, climbing above the Los Angeles Dodgers to a projected $228 million with this week's acquisition of Vernon Wells.
With teams due to set opening-day rosters Sunday, the Yankees' payroll will be nearly 10 times the spending of the Astros, who have shrunk their payroll to about $25 million.
"No one expects us to do well,'' Astros pitcher Lucas Harrell said. "So when we do well, it's going to be kind of like, `Oh, wow.' I definitely think we have a chance to shock a lot of people this year.''
Rodriguez, recovering from hip surgery, is followed on the money list by Philadelphia pitcher Cliff Lee at $25 million.
Three of the top six will start the season on the DL, with A-Rod joined by New York Mets pitcher Johan Santana (third at $24.6 million) and Yankees first baseman Mark Teixeira (sixth at $23.1 million). Wells is fourth at $24.6 million and CC Sabathia fifth at $24.3 million, giving the Yankees four of the top six.
