The Highest-Paid Baseball Player in 2020 Could Be Prince Fielder, Who Has Not Played in Four Years

The Athletic — The highest-paid player in baseball this season might be a former slugger who has not appeared in a game since July 18, 2016.

Prince Fielder, owed $24 million in the final year of his contract with the Rangers, is to receive his full termination pay under terms of the March agreement between the owners and players regarding a shortened or canceled 2020 season.

Go get that bag, old fella!

Potentially the only person in the baseball world who is thrilled about the delay of the 2020 season and subsequent squabble between the owners and players' union is Prince Fielder, who stands to become the highest-paid player in Major League Baseball this season. Teams will almost assuredly not stop the practice of locking in these ludicrous long-term contracts, but maybe the Texas Rangers having to shell out $24 million to Fielder in a year in which revenue will be minimized — if there is any at all — will make some clubs think twice before their next deal like this.

And Fielder won't be the only former Big Leaguer making his full salary this season.

Among the other released players who might receive their full salaries barring a change in terms: Left-hander Wei-Yin Chen, who is owed $22 million this season by the Marlins, and infielder Zack Cozart, who is owed $12.167 million by the Giants.

I'm sure this news is going over really well with the MLBPA right now, whose members are being asked to take a second pay cut and accept a 50-50 split of an unknown amount of revenue. I'm sure Fielder, Wei-Yin Chen and Zack Cozart will be mentioned at some point in the ongoing negotiations with the owners.

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Good for those guys, though. Somewhere, Bobby Bonilla is smiling.