The Highly-Paid, Zero Production Team

Call it “dead money” if you’d like, but these players are making millions despite not playing an inning in the major leagues this season.

We’ve all experienced situations that seemed like a good idea at the time but turned out to be a disaster. When I was younger, I thought parachute pants would change my life. They did not. Later, I wore a mullet well past its expiration date. And like most people, I’ve overspent on a player or two in a fantasy baseball auction because I thought they would be keys to my eventual victory, only to be greatly disappointed.

That last item isn’t limited to fantasy baseball. Numerous major league teams have thrown big wads of cash at players and received little in return. Teams have also regularly cut players that are still owed plenty of money. The New York Mets will famously pay Bobby Bonilla $1,193,248.20 every July 1 through 2035 because of a contract that was restructured when the team no longer wanted him.

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The Mets could have paid Bonilla the $5.9 million he was owed for the 2000 season, but will instead pay a total of $29.8 million to Bonilla by the time the restructured contract ends. They can thank Bernie Madoff for this colossal mistake. Bonilla hasn’t played in the big leagues since 2001.

When teams shell out money to a player on a multi-year deal, they have determined the player will earn that money based on projections. Sometimes it works out and sometimes it doesn’t. When it doesn’t work out, the team has to decide whether to continue to play the guy, put him on the bench, trade him, or if he’s really bad, cut him outright. Of course, unlike NFL teams, major league teams still have to pay him.

Injuries often play a factor also. Guys like Prince Fielder and Josh Hamilton are owed plenty of money, but likely won’t play again because of injuries. Some fans develop an irrational hatred for an injured player who is still collecting a big paycheck, but it’s part of the modern game. In fact, you could create an entire nine-man lineup with players who aren’t playing in the major leagues but are still getting paid millions of dollars.

These guys haven’t played an inning in the big leagues in 2017, yet are still receiving money from an MLB team.

C Brayan Pena

Released by the St. Louis Cardinals in November of 2016

Owed $2.5 million for 2017 by St. Louis Cardinals

Signed by Kansas City Royals and is playing in the minor leagues

Pena began his MLB career with the Atlanta Braves back in 2005 and stuck around the big leagues as a back-up catcher with five different teams until last season. He flirted with replacement level for most of those years, almost always being worth between -0.5 WAR and 0.5 WAR (per Baseball-Reference). For most of that time, his salary matched his value as a near replacement level player.

In November of 2013, Pena signed a two-year deal with the Cincinnati Reds that paid him $2.275 million over two years. When that deal ended after the 2015 season, the St. Louis Cardinals signed him to a two-year deal worth a guaranteed $5 million. He played just nine big league games for the Cardinals last year and they released him after the season. Five million dollars for nine major league games is a pretty good gig, if you can get it.

Pena signed with the Kansas City Royals as a free agent in February, but hasn’t made his way back to the big leagues yet. He’s still getting that $2.5 million from the Cardinals, though. He is currently playing with the Omaha Storm Chasers of the PCL, which is the Triple-A team for the Kansas City Royals. The 35-year-old catcher is hitting .274/.308/.298 in 38 games.

1B Prince Fielder

Injured; on the 60-day DL for the Texas Rangers

Owed $96 million for 2017-2020 ($24M by Detroit, $72M by Texas)

Fielder’s story is a sad one. He was a top-five finisher in MVP voting in three of his first six full seasons in the big leagues. He led the National League in home runs when he bashed 50 of them in 2007 and led the NL in RBI in 2009, with 141. In seven seasons with his original team, the Milwaukee Brewers, Fielder hit .282/.390/.540. He’s third all-time in home runs by a Milwaukee Brewers player, behind only Ryan Braun and Robin Yount.

The Brewers couldn’t afford to re-sign Fielder after the 2011 season and the big man inked a contract with the Detroit Tigers that would pay him a gazillion dollars over the next nine years (it was actually a nine-year, $214 million dollar contract). He played two seasons in Detroit. According to Baseball-Reference, he was a 4.7 WAR player with the Tigers in 2012, but slumped to a 1.9 WAR season in 2013, when he was 29 years old.

That offseason, the Tigers and Rangers swapped the big-money contracts of Prince Fielder and Ian Kinsler. Fielder went to the Rangers, who took on the $24 million per year that he was owed, minus $6 million paid by the Tigers. Fielder was limited by injuries to 42 games in his first season in Texas, then bounced back a bit to play 158 games in 2015, but was still just short of league average (1.9 WAR). He struggled mightily at the start of 2016 and finally hung up his spikes due to injury just after midseason with a very emotional press conference. Two spinal fusion surgeries pushed him to the sidelines at the age of 32, but he’ll continue to be paid $24 million per year through 2020.

In one of those interesting quirks of baseball fate, Prince and his baseball-playing father, Cecil, finished with the same number of career home runs (319). They were also very close in career RBI, with Prince beating his father 1028 to 1008. Prince also bested Cecil in triples, 10 to 7, and in career salary, $177 million to $47 million.

2B Omar Infante

Released by the Atlanta Braves in August of 2016

Owed $10 million by Kansas City Royals

Signed by Detroit Tigers and is playing in the minor leagues

Infante is a 15-year veteran of the major leagues who is currently being paid $10 million by the Kansas City Royals to play for the Detroit Tigers’ Triple-A affiliate in Toledo. He’s hitting a less-than-robust .282/.315/.364 for the Mud Hens. That’s not far off his career MLB batting line of .271/.308/.387 in over 1500 major league games, but it’s in Triple-A.

This is Infante’s third stop in Detroit as a professional. He came up with the Tigers as a 20-year-old in 2002 and spent six years as a guy who played multiple positions, mostly as a part-time player. After his first stint in Detroit, Infante played for the Braves and Marlins before returning to Detroit in the middle of the 2012 season. When the Tigers let him become a free agent after the 2013 season, Infante signed a four-year, $30 million contract with the Royals just in time for their back-to-back runs to the World Series.

Infante didn’t hit much during the regular season with the Royals in 2014, but had some success in the ALCS and World Series when he hit a combined .314/.375/.486 in 40 plate appearances. He was even worse during the 2015 regular season and didn’t get any time in the postseason because of an oblique injury. Last year was more of the same. Infante hit .239/.279/.321 in his first 39 games and the Royals finally kicked him to the curb, despite still owing $10 million on his contract for 2017 (including a buyout in 2018). The Atlanta Braves signed him in June and released him in August.

Despite Infante hitting .238/.269/.328 over the last three years, the Detroit Tigers signed him last December and sent him to Toledo to play for the Mud Hens. It’s like a homecoming for the veteran, who played parts of four seasons in Toledo as a young player coming up in the Tigers organization. Of course, this time he has plenty of money for food and housing, unlike many minor leaguers.

3B Hector Olivera

Released by the San Diego Padres in August of 2016

Owed $47 million ($18.7M by L.A. Dodgers, $28.3M by San Diego Padres)

There was a time when Olivera was a highly sought after free agent from Cuba who inspired a bidding war between multiple MLB teams. The Dodgers “won” the war in March of 2015 by outspending the Marlins, Braves, and Padres for Olivera’s services. They reportedly signed him to a six-year, $62.5 million contract. It was an odd signing considering the Dodgers didn’t seem to have a need for a second or third baseman, but Olivera had hit well in Cuba and the Dodgers had gigantic piles of cash to play with.

Ten weeks later, the Dodgers unloaded Olivera to the Atlanta Braves as part of a three-team deal that moved around a bunch of players and contracts among the Dodgers, Braves, and Marlins. Olivera played 24 games with the Braves in 2015 and another six games with them in 2016 before they traded him to the San Diego Padres for Matt Kemp in what was a swap of bad contracts. The Padres released him less than two weeks later, but he’s still owed $47 million, some of which is being paid by the Dodgers.

Along the way, Olivera had off-field troubles that contributed to his demise. He was suspended in May of 2016 for 82 games for violating MLB’s off-the-field personal conduct policy for domestic violence and other known violations. According to the police report, Olivera was responsible for visible bruises on the woman’s body. He was later convicted of misdemeanor assault and sentenced to ten days in jail, but appealed the conviction.

For $62.5 million, Olivera played in 30 major league games and hit .245/.296/.378. Braves GM John Coppolella has said that acquiring Olviera in a trade was the biggest mistake he ever made as a GM. Despite having all that money coming his way, Olivera signed with the Sugar Land Skeeters of the independent Atlantic League in June. The Skeeters have a history of signing tarnished former MLB players, including Roger Clemens and Rafael Palmeiro.

SS Alex Guerrero

Released by the L.A. Dodgers in June of 2016

Owed $7.5 million

Playing for Chunichi Dragons in the Japan Central League

The Dodgers had early success with the signing of Yasiel Puig out of Cuba, so they went back to the well and signed Alex Guerrero to a 4-year, $28 million contract in October, 2013. He crushed the ball in the minor league in 2014, including a .329/.364/.613 batting line with the Albuquerque Isotopes of the PCL. He also got a taste of big league action, but was used primarily as a pinch-hitter and went 1 for 13.

In spring training the next season, Guerrero made it clear that he would use a clause in his contract that allowed him to decline an assignment to the minor leagues. He got off to a blazing start in April and finished the month with the Dodgers hitting .423/.429/1.077, with five homers in 28 plate appearances. That was the high point of his major league career. From May 1 on, he hit .207/.238/.347.

Guerrero started last season on the DL before playing 16 games in the minor leagues on a rehab stint during which he hit just .136. The Dodgers didn’t have a spot for him on the big league roster and eventually released him in June despite still owing him $7.5 million for last season and another $7.5 million for this year. In November, he signed with the Chunichi Dragons of the Japanese Nippon Professional Baseball League.

Japan has been good to Guerrero. He hit 33 home runs in 117 games. He also set a team record for most consecutive games with a home run, but fell short of the league record that is held by legends Randy Bass and Sadaharu Oh. He was also selected to the Central League All-Star team.

LF Josh Hamilton

Released by the Texas Rangers in April of 2017

Owed $28.4 million ($26.41M by L.A. Angels, $2M by Texas Rangers)

Josh Hamilton has had an eventful career that included being the number one overall pick of the 1999 MLB draft, injuries, drug addiction, a 30-day suspension, drug rehabilitation at the Betty Ford Center, arrest, and a season-long suspension. This all happened before he ever played a game in the major leagues. He spent three years on the Restricted List from 2003 to 2005 and was again suspended in 2006

During his suspension in 2006, Hamilton started to get his life back on track. He straightened out his personal life and was able to get back on the baseball diamond for 15 games in the minor leagues. After the season, the Tampa Bay Rays left him off their 40-man roster and he was selected by the Chicago Cubs in the Rule 5 draft. The Cubs then traded him to the Cincinnati Reds.

Despite everything that had happened since being the number one pick of the draft in 1999, Josh Hamilton’s natural ability allowed him to step back on the field and crush the ball with the Reds in 2007. He hit .292/.368/.554 in 90 games. Despite his success, Hamilton was traded to the Rangers for Edinson Volquez and Danny Herrera.

Hamilton had his best years with the Rangers. He was a five time All-Star and won the AL MVP Award in 2010 when he led the league in batting average and slugging percentage. In six years with the Rangers, he hit .302/.359/.542 and launched 150 home runs. He was part of the Rangers teams that went to back-to-back World Series in 2010 and 2011, but he struggled at the dish both times and the Rangers failed to win the title. He was granted free agency after the 2012 season.

The Los Angeles Angels came calling and signed Hamilton to a 5-year, $125 million contract prior to the 2013 season. He played a full season with the team in 2013, but wasn’t the player he’d been in Texas. He was even worse in 2014 and 2015, as injuries began to take their toll. It was also revealed that Hamilton relapsed in 2015. Because Hamilton voluntarily reported his relapse, he was not suspended by MLB. In April of 2015, the Angels traded Hamilton back to the Rangers, while agreeing to pay most of the remaining money on his contract.

Hamilton hasn’t played in the big leagues since the 2015 season, but has been paid $56.82 million over the last two years, most of it by the Angels. A knee injury wiped out most of the 2016 season for Hamilton and further discomfort ended an attempt at playing again this year. The Rangers released him in April.

RF Rusney Castillo

Owed $49 million by the Boston Red Sox

Playing in Triple-A

After defecting from Cuba in 2013, Castillo signed a 7-year, $72.5 million contract with the Boston Red Sox in August, 2014. He played in 10 games for the Red Sox that year and hit .333/.400/.528 in a very small sample size of 40 plate appearances. His pedigree as an international signing and that nice batting line made Castillo a highly-regarded prospect prior to the 2015 season. Baseball America ranked him 21^st on their pre-season Top 100.

The 2015 season was rough for Castillo. He didn’t hit much in Triple-A and hit even worse in the big leagues. In 80 games with the Red Sox, he hit .253/.288/.359. Plate discipline was a big issue, as he walked under five percent of the time. He spent most of last season in Triple-A and is back there again this year, all the while making more than $11 million per season. On the bright side, he’s hitting better this year than he ever has in the U.S., with a .314/.350/.507 batting line and 15 home runs in 87 games.

Ironically, if Castillo didn’t have that big contract, he might have been called up to the Red Sox during the season. Because he’s not on the team’s 40-man roster, his big salary doesn’t count against the team’s tax threshold. If they wanted to bring him up to the big leagues, they would have to put him on the 40-man roster and his salary could put them over the threshold that would trigger a tax penalty.

The Red Sox still owe Castillo more than $37 million over the next three years, but have the terrific trio of Mookie Betts, Andrew Benintendi, and Jackie Bradley, Jr. holding down the three outfield spots in Boston. Depending on their salary cap situation, he could be an expensive fourth outfielder for the team in 2018.

DH Allen Craig

Owed $12 million by the Boston Red Sox

Playing in Triple-A

Craig was originally drafted by the St. Louis Cardinals in 2006. He made it to the big leagues for partial seasons in 2010 and 2011, then came into his own in 2012 when he hit .307/.354/.522 and drove in 92 runs in 119 games. He followed that up with a 97 RBI season in 2013 and made his first (and only) All-Star team. During these two seasons, Craig earned the reputation for being clutch at the plate by hitting .400 with runners in scoring position in 2012 and .454 with runners in scoring position in 2013.

When Lance Berkman left the Cardinals for free agency following the 2013 season, Craig was slated to be the teams’ regular first baseman. The Cardinals rewarded his two previous strong seasons with a 5-year, $31 million contract that was heavily back-loaded.

Then, suddenly, Craig couldn’t hit at all, whether there were runners on base or not. He started the 2014 season by hitting .237/.291/.346 with the Cardinals and finished the season by hitting .128/.234/.191 with the Red Sox after a mid-season trade. With runners in scoring position, he hit .216. The 2015 season was even worse, as Craig hit .152/.239/.203 in 36 games with the Red Sox. He spent most of the year in Triple-A.

Craig is back in Triple-A this year and he’s still not hitting much at all, but he is getting paid $11 million thanks to the back-loaded contract he signed with the Cardinals. The Red Sox can buy out his 2018 option for $1 million. Craig’s sudden collapse isn’t the worst ever seen in the long history of baseball, but he essentially went from a better than league average player to below replacement level overnight.

SP Matt Harrison

Released by the Philadelphia Phillies in November of 2016

Owed $15.2 million  

Harrison was drafted out of South Granville High School by the Atlanta Braves in 2003. He worked his way through the minor leagues and was named a top-100 prospect by Baseball America and Baseball Prospectus prior to the 2007 season. He never pitched for the Braves, though, as he was part of their big deal at the 2007 trade deadline that brought Mark Teixeira to Atlanta. Heading to Texas were Harrison, Elvis Andrus, Neftali Feliz, Jarrod Saltalamacchia, and minor leaguer Beau Jones.

It took a few more years before Harrison would establish himself with the Rangers. He won 14 games with a 3.39 ERA during the Rangers’ 2011 World Series year, then went 18-11 with a 3.29 ERA in 2012. He was named an All-Star and finished eighth in AL Cy Young voting in his 18-win season. That offseason, the Rangers signed him to a five-year, $55 million contract.

Next: Phillies forming core four

Then the injuries started. Harrison’s 2013 season was marred by a herniated disc that limited him to just 10.7 innings. He pitched 17.3 innings in 2014 before undergoing lumbar spinal disc fusion surgery. During another injury-marred season in 2015 (16 innings), Harrison was traded to the Philadelphia Phillies in the deal that brought Cole Hamels to Texas. Harrison was included in the swap to offset some of Hamels’ salary. The Phillies released him last November despite still owing $13.2 million for the 2017 season and a $2 million buyout for 2018.