Flood time in Freddy

A-Rod paid more than entire Marlins roster

NEW YORK - Alex Rodriguez will make more money this year than his hometown Florida Marlins.

Boosted by his new deal with the New York Yankees, A-Rod tops the major league baseball salary list at US$28 million, according to a study of contract terms by The Associated Press. The 33 players on the Marlins' opening-day roster and disabled list total $21.8 million.

"The Marlins? It's amazing," Rodriguez said. "And they still seem to find a way to be very competitive."

"They have a great pool of talent; they made some unbelievable trades, so they have great personnel people. To win two championships in 11 years, that's really admirable, and I'm very proud of that organization, being from Miami."

The Toronto Blue Jays were ranked 12th overall with a payroll of $98,641,957, an average of $3,522,927 per player. Pitcher A.J Burnett will be the club's highest-paid player this season with a salary of $13.2 million.

The Blue Jays will have four players earning $10 million or more in Burnett, designated-hitter Frank Thomas ($12.56 million), pitcher B.J. Ryan ($12 million), infielder Scott Rolen ($11.625 million) and pitcher Roy Halladay ($10 million).

For the first time in baseball history, the average salary topped the $3-million mark. The 855 players on opening-day rosters and the DL averaged $3.15 million, up 7.1 per cent from last year's starting average of $2.94 million.

Florida's highest earner doesn't even make the average. Pitcher Kevin Gregg tops the Marlins at $2.5 million.