What a First Job in Baseball Operations Pays

Fourteen clubs put pay on their job postings this year. On average, seasonal entry-level roles paid about $20 an hour and full-time entry-level roles paid about $80,000.

Baseball operations is the part of a major league club that scouts, develops and evaluates players, and for a lot of people who love the game it is the place they most want to work. What the jobs pay has been harder to learn than how to apply for them. Titles change from one front office to the next, and most postings say nothing about money.

SportsCareers, a free job board that gathers open jobs from teams across professional sports, set out to make that picture clearer. It pulled about 250 baseball operations roles that the 30 major league clubs had open between July 10 and Nov. 10, and 89 of them listed pay. Those 89 came from 14 clubs, each of which plays in a state, province or city with a pay transparency rule for job postings.

The postings point to two ways in. Seasonal entry-level roles, the internships, fellowships and associate jobs where most people start, paid about $20 an hour on average. Full-time entry-level roles paid about $80,000.

Hiring picked up as the season wound down. Clubs posted 20 baseball operations roles in August, 77 in September and 92 in October.

Median means half of the roles paid more and half paid less. The typical range is where the middle half of the roles fell, with the highest-paid quarter and the lowest-paid quarter left out.

Seasonal entry-level roles pay about $20 an hour

For most people, the first job in baseball operations comes with an end date. Clubs call it an internship, a fellowship or an associate role, and it usually lasts a single season, often from spring training into the fall.

Thirty-two of these roles listed pay, and all but three paid by the hour. The average was about $20, and almost every posting landed between $15 and $25. Analytics and baseball operations roles with the Mets, Blue Jays, Mariners and Dodgers sat near the top of that range, at $22 to $25. Video and technology jobs at minor league affiliates sat near the bottom, with the Padres, Angels, Rockies and Orioles posting them at $15 to $18. The three exceptions were two Rockies fellowships and a Yankees associate job, which carried salaries of $50,000 to $60,000 instead.

The hourly rate is not the whole picture, because some clubs add to it. At least 12 seasonal postings from eight clubs mentioned housing, a living stipend or meals on top of the pay. The Red Sox told applicants for their 2027 associate roles to expect a "generous" living or housing stipend. The Phillies and Cubs said they would house the technology associates they send to minor league affiliates, and the White Sox offered their affiliate interns furnished housing or a stipend. Other clubs provide similar help without putting it on the posting, and it varies by team and by position. None of it is counted in the pay figures here.

The hours are part of the picture too. At 40 hours a week, $20 an hour comes to about $41,600 over a full year, but a job in baseball rarely fits a 40-hour week. About two-thirds of the seasonal postings said so themselves by mentioning nights, weekends or long hours. A Cardinals posting for a development fellow asked for the "ability to work weekdays, nights, weekends, and holidays as dictated by the baseball schedule."

Then there is the calendar. These jobs are tied to a season, with a start date and an end date, and they are not guaranteed beyond it.

What they rarely ask for is experience. Of the 32 roles, 28 named no minimum, and the other four asked for a year or less.

Full-time entry-level roles pay about $80,000

The other way in is a full-time job, which is what most people aspire to. For many, it is the step that follows a seasonal role. These are salaried, year-round positions. Analyst, scout, minor league coach and software engineer are common examples, though the list does not end there.

Thirty-three of these roles listed a salary. The average was about $80,000, and half of them fell between $70,000 and $90,000. The kind of work made a large difference.

Software and analytics roles paid the most, and scouting and coaching roles started lower. The Orioles, for example, posted a data scientist at $90,000 and a junior software engineer at $80,000, and the Nationals posted a junior analyst in player projections at $65,000 to $80,000. The Mariners listed a scout at $60,000 to $80,000 and an affiliate pitching coach at $55,000 to $70,000, although the Angels posted the same kind of coaching job at $85,000 to $95,000.

A salary does not mean a 40-hour week. Nearly half of the postings outside the seasonal group mentioned nights, weekends or long hours. The Diamondbacks, hiring a scout, asked for the "ability to work evenings, weekends, and irregular hours as required by the baseball calendar."

These roles do not ask for long resumes. Ten of the 33 named a minimum for experience, and none asked for more than three years.

No job in baseball is guaranteed, but a salaried role runs year round, which a seasonal role does not, and it typically comes with health benefits. The Red Sox, for one, tell applicants that their full-time employees receive "a comprehensive benefits package, including healthcare, retirement plans, paid time off, and more." Measured against a full year at $20 an hour, a full-time entry-level role roughly doubles the pay.

Senior staff and directors

Pay climbs with the title, and so does what clubs ask for. Eighteen senior staff and manager roles listed a salary, with a median of $125,000, and the 11 that named a minimum for experience wanted three to five years.

Seven clubs posted senior analyst and data scientist roles, at $80,000 to $150,000. Senior engineers ran higher, from $125,000 to $200,000 with the Yankees, Rockies and Mets. On the field side, the Nationals listed a defensive coordinator at $100,000 to $135,000 and the Rockies listed an area scouting supervisor at $75,000 to $95,000.

Above that, the postings thin out. Only six roles at director level or above listed pay, four of them with the Nationals. They ranged from a Rockies national cross checker at $100,000 to $150,000 to a Nationals assistant general manager for research and development at $350,000 to $425,000. That is too small a group to call a market rate, and many senior jobs in baseball are filled without a public posting.

Which clubs post pay

The pay figures come from 14 of the 30 clubs: the Angels, Blue Jays, Cubs, Dodgers, Guardians, Mariners, Mets, Nationals, Orioles, Padres, Red Sox, Rockies, Twins and Yankees. Each plays in a state, province or city with a pay transparency rule for job postings.

The other 16 clubs did not list pay on the baseball operations roles SportsCareers reviewed, and pay with those clubs may differ. Across all 30 clubs, 36% of roles stated pay.

How SportsCareers counted

• SportsCareers read the public baseball operations postings of the 30 MLB clubs between July 10 and Nov. 10, 2026, including roles that were already open on July 10.
• A role posted more than once by the same club counts once. That leaves 249 roles, 89 of them with stated pay.
• Pay is the club's own figure, checked against the text of each posting.
• Most postings give a range, such as $65,000 to $80,000. Each role is counted at the middle of its range, which is $72,500 in that example.
• Levels follow the job title. Interns, fellows and associates are seasonal entry-level roles. Full-time roles without a senior title are full-time entry-level. Senior, lead, manager, coordinator and supervisor titles are senior staff.

Common questions

How much do entry-level baseball operations jobs pay?

Seasonal entry-level roles, the internships, fellowships and associate jobs, paid about $20 an hour on the MLB club postings SportsCareers reviewed. Full-time entry-level roles paid about $80,000 a year. The figures come from 89 postings that listed pay between July 10 and Nov. 10, 2026.

How much do MLB interns, fellows and associates make?

Almost every seasonal posting landed between $15 and $25 an hour, with a median of $20. Analytics and baseball operations roles with the Mets, Blue Jays, Mariners and Dodgers were posted at $22 to $25, and video and technology jobs at minor league affiliates at $15 to $18.

What do analysts, scouts and coaches make in a full-time entry-level job?

Among full-time entry-level postings, software engineers and designers had a median salary of $126,000, analysts and data scientists $90,000, scouts $75,000 and minor league coaches $65,000.

Do seasonal baseball jobs come with housing or a stipend?

Some do. At least 12 seasonal postings from eight clubs mentioned housing, a living stipend or meals on top of the hourly rate. It varies by team and by position, and other clubs provide similar help without putting it on the posting.

Which MLB teams put pay on their job postings?

Fourteen of the 30 clubs stated pay on at least one baseball operations role: the Angels, Blue Jays, Cubs, Dodgers, Guardians, Mariners, Mets, Nationals, Orioles, Padres, Red Sox, Rockies, Twins and Yankees. Each plays in a state, province or city with a pay transparency rule for job postings.

How much experience do entry-level baseball operations jobs ask for?

Very little. Of the 32 seasonal roles with pay, 28 named no minimum. Of the 33 full-time entry-level roles, 10 named a minimum and none asked for more than three years.

SportsCareers lists open baseball operations jobs with all 30 clubs. Create a free account here.