Inactive MLB players may be sport's highest paid in 2020

As the MLBPA battles with the league over player salaries for an abbreviated 2020 season, one group of players won’t be affected: those who are inactive but still owed money by former teams.

The likes of Prince Fielder, Troy Tulowitzki and David Wright are still owed money based on the contracts they originally signed many years ago. According to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic, these players would receive their full guaranteed payments, and no negotiated adjustment is unlikely as none of the players are on 40-man rosters.

The quirk in the rules could make Fielder, who is owed $24 million by the Texas Rangers this season, the sport’s highest-paid player in 2020. Former Marlins pitcher Wei-Yin Chen, released by the team at the end of the 2019 season, is still owed $22 million. Tulowitzki is due $18 million from the Toronto Blue Jays.

Former New York Yankees outfielder Jacoby Ellsbury would be the highest-paid player, as he is owed $26 million. However, the Yankees are withholding that money over a dispute with the player.

The MLB and MLBPA are locked in a standoff over player salaries for 2020, with the players’ union slamming the league’s proposal. This small group of former players, it turns out, can seemingly rest easy.