The new normal in Major League Baseball is slowly taking shape, in a business currently shuttered.

At least one team ownership has already dictated a budget rollback in 2021, and front-office executives from other organizations believe they will get similar orders. Some scouts expect a wave of furloughs to come down after the June draft, and expect that many baseball lifers sidelined might never again find work under the MLB umbrella. The revenue spigot is turned off and almost everyone is impacted.

Through serendipity and an unexpected consequence of their respective contract negotiations or circumstances, however, some players have more protection than others -- and some players are taking a more significant hit than their peers.