The Post’s Joel Sherman breaks down the 50 most interesting people in baseball with 2023 spring training beginning.

Last year’s ranking in parentheses.

NR = Not Ranked

Carlos Rodon received the second-largest free-agent deal for a pitcher this offseason: six years at $162 million.

During last season, the Braves approved the largest outlay in their history for Austin Riley: 10 years at $212 million. Atlanta acted 3 ¹/₂ years before the third baseman was due for free agency.

Keep these deals in mind — notably that Riley would have cost a lot more in free agency. Now combine these players into one. Now add the marketing possibilities.

Shohei Ohtani last year was Rodon plus Riley plus the most marketable player in the sport from here to Japan. Rules were actually changed to keep Ohtani in a game as a designated hitter even on days when he was removed as a starting pitcher — The Ohtani Rule.

The comps: Rodon led major league qualified starters in strikeout percentage at 33.4, Ohtani was second at 33.2. Batters had a .202/.263/.308 slashline and walked 7.3 percent of the time as Rodon went 14-8 in 178 innings. Batters had a .203/.258/.316 slashline and walked 6.7 percent of the time as Ohtani went 15-9 in 166 innings.

In 693 plate appearances, Riley had a .273/.349/.529 slashline with 38 homers, 93 RBIs, 90 runs, an 8.2 percent walk rate and 24.2 strikeout rate. In 666 plate appearances, Ohtani had a .273/.356/.519 slashline with 34 homers, 95 RBIs, 90 runs, a 10.8 walk rate and 24.2 strikeout percentage.

Ohtani is two years younger than Rodon. Ohtani is due to be a free agent this coming offseason — as opposed to when Riley signed. So what exactly would an extension be if the Angels can get one done with him? What is Ohtani’s contract in free-agent open bidding? What is the return if the Angels decide to deal him before the Aug. 1 deadline?

These questions are why Ohtani tops our annual 50 Most Interesting People in Baseball rankings. And that is before asking what can he do after pitching and hitting his way to a MVP in 2021 and a second place behind Aaron Judge last year? Simply qualifying for the ERA and batting titles in the same year is stunning. To perform like two of the biggest stars in the game is startling. What comes next should be staggering.

The sound you hear in the distance is labor war drums. Just not the traditional players vs. owners rancor. The way salaries soared this offseason, especially as teams again willingly signed players into their late 30s/early 40s, sets up even more small market vs. big market ownership fights about how to split revenues and spend dollars. But ultimately, it may be all the other owners vs. Cohen, who has created a new payroll stratosphere.

The Mets currently project a $370 million-ish payroll and, thus, nearly $100 million-ish in luxury tax penalties. That’s roughly a half billion all in for 2023 — and Cohen already sees bidding on Ohtani in his near future.

Correa agreed to contractual terms four times in the past two offseasons with guarantees for more than $970 million. He never finished the first contract (opting out from the Twins), never officially signed contracts with the Giants and Mets and wound up back with the Twins for six years at $200 million. Will the Giants, Mets and the rest of the industry regret their long-term concerns about a lower right leg injury incurred in the minors in 2014 that has caused Correa no notable setbacks in the majors? Or is Correa a physical time bomb?

The commissioner will be the face of the most seismic one-time rule changes in history — notably the introduction of a pitch clock, the banning of extreme shifts and restrictions on pickoff throws. The hope is to get the ball in play more, move the game at a brisker pace and heighten action on the bases. Expect lots of moaning, especially early.

Playing for the long-term money (after spurning a $213.5 million extension offer), Judge put up one of the best seasons in history, hitting 62 homers last year. What does he do for an encore after signing for $360 million over nine years?

He nearly won the Rookie of the Year and two MVPs between 2019-21 and he was MLB’s darling in trying to sell a hipper version of the game to a younger demographic. Then Tatis incurred a fractured wrist bone from a motorcycle accident that cost him the beginning of last season and on Aug. 12 was banned 80 games for testing positive for a banned performance-enhancer — a penalty that will carry through the first 20 games this year. He will be allowed to participate in spring training. Antennae are up to gauge whether there has been a gain in maturity and also what kind of player Tatis still is.

Unhealthy and unhappy often during his last few years with the Mets, deGrom received a five-year, $185 million pact with the Rangers to replace a contract he did not like and opted out of. So, he got the money and a New York exit. Does this lead to happiness and health?

The top prospects on the New York clubs might not make Opening Day rosters, but it is possible that for the teams to be all they can in 2023 (and beyond) the Mets will need Alvarez’s power and the Yankees the all-around dynamism of Volpe. Will one, both or neither validate the hype?

Bauer was suspended in April 2022 for two seasons for violating MLB’s domestic violence policy. In December, an arbitrator lessened the ban, making him eligible to play this year. The Dodgers then released the 2020 NL Cy Young winner. Bauer was not a well-loved player before the allegations. When last he pitched, though, he also was tremendously talented. Will any team pay the $720,000 minimum and accept public scorn to tap into the talent?

Currently, the biggest name in the trade market. Do the Pirates budge now or at the Aug. 1 trade deadline? An extension to keep him in Pittsburgh seems unlikely.

He had Tommy John surgery in November. The Phillies hope he can swing a bat sometime in March and return as a DH around the All-Star break.

They are defending MVPs in Japan and Korea, respectively. Both are on World Baseball Classic rosters and expected to be posted after this season to come play in MLB. This is particularly seismic with Yamamoto, who has won the Japanese version of the Cy Young each of the past two years, and is likened to stars such as Yu Darvish and Masahiro Tanaka, who came here for their age-25 season. Yamamoto also would be coming for his age-25 campaign and the bidding would be expected to be huge. For coming attractions, Roki Sasaki, who threw 17 perfect innings last season in his age-20 campaign, and third baseman Munetaka Murakami, who hit 56 homers last year, also will be playing for Team Japan as MLB clubs salivate in anticipation of their availability in the future.

The Red Sox’s chief baseball officer has been under siege by fans and media in Boston with the team finishing last twice in his three years in charge (with an ALCS appearance in between) and the exits of championship stars Mookie Betts and Xander Bogaerts. This offseason the Red Sox did extend Rafael Devers (10 years, $313.5 million) and invested in a lot of free agents but not at the top of the market. Bloom has insisted the plan has been to build a strong farm system and financial flexibility simultaneously and that the club is at that door now.

If he opts out of his contract after this season, Machado would be the top pure position player in free agency. The Padres have signaled they want to extend their third baseman before then.

The Dodger lefty will pitch at just 26 this season — his walk year. Urias is 40-10 with a 2.76 ERA over the last three seasons and is tied for ninth in starts (73). He headlines a starter free-agent group that also currently includes Jack Flaherty, Lucas Giolito, Jordan Montgomery, Aaron Nola and Luis Severino.

On the subject of those who can be free agents after this season, Scherzer has an opt-out. If he has a healthy, successful season, the righty almost certainly will hit the marketplace unless Cohen preempts that with an extension.

The reigning AL Cy Young winner is teammates once more with Scherzer. They are both three-time Cy winners. From atop the Mets rotation they can continue this race: Verlander is 12th all time with 3,198 strikeouts. Scherzer is 13th at 3,193.

Another starter heading toward free agency — for the third straight offseason. Syndergaard, 31 in August, is operating on a one-year pact for a second straight season. He is joining the Dodgers pitching lab, which helped starters Tyler Anderson and Andrew Heaney net multiyear deals this offseason after a season refining in L.A.

He received just 46.5 percent of votes in his first year on the Hall of Fame ballot. Was that due to a one-year punishment by many voters for Beltran’s large involvement in the 2017 Astros sign-stealing scandal? Will it help his candidacy to get one more year removed while joining the front office of the Mets, the team that fired him as manager upon revelation of the cheating scandal after the 2019 season?

He hit 40 homers in just 119 games in a season dimmed by injury for the second straight year. Entering his 13th season, Trout still has played in just one playoff series — in 2014 with three games and no wins. The annual story remains: Can the Angels infrastructure be good enough to get Trout to another October?

He will manage what projects to the best Team USA in World Baseball Classic history. Will the tournament catch on? Will it be disruptive to MLB clubs trying to train for all the new rules?

He already has announced this is the final season of a career that almost certainly will gain him Hall entry. Cabrera begins 2023 with 507 homers and 3,088 hits.

Since pitching brilliantly in 2019, notably in the playoffs en route to winning the World Series MVP, Strasburg signed a seven-year, $245 million contract to stay a National. Since then he has started eight games in three seasons, pitching to a 6.89 ERA. Strasburg had surgery for thoracic outlet syndrome in July 2021 and has had recurring problems since then. How much he will pitch again is in question.

Senga comes to the Mets’ rotation (five years, $75 million) with five Japanese Series championships and an intriguing pitch known as “The Ghost” forkball because it is so deceiving.

Only deGrom received more among free-agent pitchers this offseason than Rodon’s $162 million, six-year deal with the Yankees. Are the last two brilliant seasons reflective of who the lefty is? Has he left injury and underachievement in the past?

In conjunction with Correa, the big four shortstops on the market signed for nearly $1 billion. Last year’s starry shortstop conglomeration did not go great, with notably Javier Baez (Tigers) and Trevor Story (Red Sox) not playing well. Now, Story is going to miss a good deal of this season after elbow surgery and cannot move from second to short to replace Bogaerts (Padres), who like Swanson (Cubs) and Turner (Phillies) has ended up in the NL. The trio signed for a combined 33 years. It means these clubs expect to get a lot out of them now to justify the long deals.

Had this trio become free agents after the 2019 season when they combined for a .276 average, 102 homers and 15.3 Wins Above Replacement (Fangraphs), they would have scored exorbitant contracts for their lefty bats and all-around skills. But coming off a combined .190, 38 homers and 2.3 WAR in which Conforto did not play at all while nursing a shoulder injury, the market was not lucrative.

Conforto signed for two years at $36 million with the Giants with the chance to opt out after the 2023 campaign. Bellinger agreed at one-year, $17.5 million with the Cubs and Gallo one year at $11 million with the Twins. Conforto is the oldest, not turning 30 until March 1. So there is time to regain their status and get big contracts still. But this is a vital year.

The preeminent closers of the generation must prove there is still something left. All arrived to MLB in 2010, all just completed their age-34 seasons and their career stats share lots of similarities. But only Jansen remained a closer in good standing (with Atlanta) last year, and that netted him a two-year, $32 million payday with the Red Sox.

Chapman and Kimbrel lost their closer roles during the season and then both were left off playoff rosters; Kimbrel because the Dodgers believed they had better options and Chapman — in part — for not attending a Yankees’ workout prior to the Division Series. The Phillies agreed with Kimbrel on a one-year, $10 million deal. Chapman received one year at $3.75 million. Neither is currently the designated closer.

One item to keep in mind — Chapman, Kimbrel and Jansen have annually been among the majors’ slowest workers. With the pitch clock in effect, can you teach old relievers new tricks?

The largest ownership anger is toward Cohen’s free-spending ways. But the Padres GM Preller and owner Seidler have shown an aggressiveness in a San Diego market not previously associated with such spending. They had a club-record $200 million-plus payroll last season and, at roughly $267 million for 2023, only the two New York teams are currently in line to spend more. While that has unsettled many in the industry, it has brought stars such as Bogaerts, Josh Hader and Juan Soto in the last 12 months to a roster that has Machado, Tatis and Yu Darvish. It also has brought an expectation of more than 3 million in home attendance this year.

He is a stand-in for lots of ownership maneuvering. Moreno announced last August he was exploring selling the Angels but in late January said he was not. The Nationals seemed destined for sale, but last month the Washington Post reported the more likely course now is to take on a minority partner. The club announced Monday that its 97-year-old owner, Ted Lerner, had died. Ballpark situations are still not clarified for the A’s and Rays. The Angelos brothers recently agreed to terminate their legal action against each other involving control of the Orioles, but the future of who will run that franchise remains uncertain.

He almost certainly cemented his Hall of Fame entrance by managing the Astros to a title last season. Can he repeat at age 74?

Each left New York to sign elsewhere: Bassitt with the Blue Jays for three years, $63 million; Taillon with the Cubs for four years at $68 million; and Walker with the Phillies for four years, $72 million.

A new collective bargaining agreement was signed to undo the lockout last year and — as often happens after such a deal — teams in time of labor peace spent lavishly. Still as the head of the MLB Players Association, Clark will monitor whether the good times continue to flow and just how his players feel about all the rule changes.

It has been 10 years since a pitcher 20 or younger logged 20 starts in a season — Jose Fernandez made 28 for the 2013 Marlins. Painter turns 20 on April 10 and the Phillies have not discouraged the possibility that the 13th pick in the 2021 draft — three spots after the Mets’ ill-fated selection of Kumar Rocker — could join a rotation with Nola, Walker, Ranger Suarez and Zack Wheeler.

The 2022 AL Rookie of the Year hit 28 homers, stole 25 bases and with his enthusiasm and skill helped the Mariners to the playoffs for the first time since 2021. What is his encore?

He finished second for AL Rookie of the Year to Rodriguez. His May 13 arrival was a tentpole moment for the Orioles, who went 69-60 from there forward, finished with their first winning record since 2016 and began the organization blending other top prospects from a fertile system such as DL Hall and Gunnar Henderson into the roster with outfielder Colton Cowser, starter Grayson Rodriguez and infielder Jordan Westburg having strong chances to debut this year.

He stepped down from running the Brewers baseball operations to take a title as an adviser to that department and ownership. Stearns indicated he wanted to renew his batteries and spend more time with his family. But he is just 37 with a very good reputation. The Astros and Mets have long been seen as potential landing places for him. So his free agency next offseason — when Milwaukee no longer needs compensation to let him go — will be one to watch … if some team does not decide to step in sooner.

Bochy managed 25 years, including 13 (with three championships) with the Giants before exiting after the 2019 season at age 64. But the success of Baker at an advanced age and the game still being in Bochy’s blood have brought him back to manage the Rangers, who have spent nearly $825 million on free agents the past two years — notably deGrom, Corey Seager and Marcus Semien. Does Bochy still have the touch to turn this team into a legit AL West threat to Baker’s Astros? Bochy returned the same year his ex-Giants boss, Brian Sabean, also felt the urge to be in the fray again and took a job with the Yankees as a special assistant to the general manager.

Look who’s back with the Pirates?

Rachel Balkovec (7); Freddie Freeman (8); Francisco Lindor (10); Wander Franco (11); Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (13); Bobby Witt Jr. (14); Justin Trudeau (17); Albert Pujols (18); Gerrit Cole (20); Alex Rodriguez (24); David Cone (25); Joe Davis (26); Druw Jones (27); Kumar Rocker (28); Robinson Cano (31); Juan Soto (32); Ronald Acuña Jr. (33); Buck Showalter (34); Joe Girardi (35); Seiya Suzuki (37); Christian Yelich (38); Clint Frazier (40); Marcus Stroman (41); Bob Melvin (42); Mookie Betts (43); Pete Alonso (44); Jarred Kelenic (46); Jack Leiter (47); Theo Epstein (48); Robo umpires (49); Matt Harvey (50)