C.J. Wilson didn’t throw a single pitch in the major leagues this year. But he got paid just like he did.
C.J. Wilson's contract with the Angels is complete. This season he made $20 million in base salary and didn't throw a pitch in a game.
— Greg Beacham (@gregbeacham) October 2, 2016
Wilson is at the end of a five-year, $75 million contract with the Los Angeles Angels. 2016 was the final year of that contract, and he got paid $20 million.
Of course Wilson intended to pitch for the Angels this year. But as it often does with pitchers, his body had other ideas. After his 2015 ended early due to elbow surgery, Wilson hoped he’d be ready to go in 2016. But he began having constant shoulder discomfort, and he was forced to start the whole recuperation and rehab process all over again.
Wilson made it as far as a rehab start in late May, when he pitched four innings for Class-A Inland Empire. But his shoulder wasn’t any better and he got shut down almost immediately. He had season-ending rotator cuff surgery in July, and that signaled the end of his career with the Angels.

C.J. Wilson throwing a pitch in 2015.*(Getty Images)
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If you’re wondering if there’s ever been another pitcher who was paid $20 million for not pitching, there has. Johan Santana of the New York Mets was paid*$21,644,707 in 2011 while he missed the entire year recovering from shoulder surgery. Just like Wilson, Santana pitched in the minors during his rehab: five innings over two appearances. Santana would have just one more year in the majors.
We don’t know if this will be the end of the road for Wilson in baseball. Rotator cuff surgery is serious, and it’s a tough return. Pedro Martinez had rotator cuff surgery in 2007 and nearly retired. He would pitch parts of two more seasons in the majors, but he never looked the same. Martinez was 35 at the time of his surgery, the same age as C.J. Wilson.

Wilson may be a reclamation project and surgery has certainly hurt his free agent value, but he may find a home. In his previous four years with the Angels, Wilson had a combined 3.87 ERA, which is middling but not bad. Free agent pitchers are going to be hard to come by in the offseason, and a team could take a flier on Wilson and hope they can help him find a few more good innings.
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Liz Roscher is a writer for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email her at [email protected] or follow her on twitter! Follow @lizroscher