Amid the coronavirus pandemic, Major League Baseball teams are releasing hundreds of minor leaguers. This is because many owners don’t want to pay minor league salaries and releasing them to save money.
This is disheartening and brutal for so many players with so much yet to come. The releases could be the end of many players’ careers before they even had a shot to prove themselves.
Many teams like the Dodgers and Mets are paying all minor leaguers through June, while organizations like the Marlins and Padres are paying players through August. The Reds and Royals have even announced that they will pay their minor leaguers all season.
Unfortunately, the Athletics announced that their minor leaguers would no longer be paid after May 31st. That’s almost just as bad as being released since you aren’t making money either way.
Right now, the MLB is in negotiations with the Players Association about the fate of the 2020 season. The players are working on a counter-proposal to the MLB that will include around 110 games with prorated salaries. The Players Association turned down the original proposal due to the lack of pay, with some players seeing 80% pay cuts.
All sides want to see a baseball season happen, but they can’t get on the same page about how it will happen. The players already agreed to prorated salaries, but it’s again the owners who are afraid to lose money for one season. What they fail to realize is how quickly they would make back all the lost money.
Hopefully, more teams will follow the lead of the Reds and Royals and will pay their minor leaguers all year. Additionally, the MLB and the Players Association need to strike a deal soon. If not, we may never see baseball in 2020.