It happens in basketball with buy outs. I actually think its better that way. The problem is mlb has the strongest union of the major sports.
I could be wrong but I believe the insurance covers missing a certain amount of time missed regardless of reason. He's trying hard to get called up from the minor league to restart the clock. To the point the Yankees doctor diagnosed him with a thigh strain a couple of weeks ago, yet an independent doctor found nothing. Huge chess match going between the 2 right now
In the nba the player has to agree to the buyout and players generally waive remaining salary in exchange for the opportunity to go elsewhere. NBA cant simply buyout a fringe players contract because they have someone better or cheaper to take their place like the nfl does.
