Optimizing Player Contracts for Major League Baseball Teams

This thesis aims to develop a new way to value players for all teams in the MLB, despite the financial disparity. Displayed in the rest of this paper, is a player valuation model created around each team's salary level, focusing on player’s offensive output. The model functions in a way that values players by their ability to help their team score runs and win games by setting parameters for salary expectations based on player performance. This allows for small market MLB teams, like the Cleveland Guardians, to build a roster of players around their specific salary limit, specifically to score the maximum runs and win games. On the contrary, the model also works for big market teams, like the Los Angeles Dodger, allowing them to project their larger salary limit to players and build their ideal roster as well.