As Deadline Looms, MLB Teams Formulate Plans To Pay Minor Leaguers

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Update (7 p.m. ET): The Padres, Rangers, Dodgers and Braves plans for paying their minor leaguers have been added to the original story.

Update (5/28): The Mariners, Orioles, D-backs, Mets, Cubs, Cardinals and Brewers plans for paying their minor leaguers have been added to the story.

Update (5/29): The Twins, Royals, Astros, Reds, Indians, Giants and Red Sox plans for paying their minor leaguers have been added to the story.

Update (6/1): Added Tigers, Yankees and Rockies.

Update (6/5): Added Angels information.

Update (6/5): The Athletics reversed their previous decision, with A’s owner John Fisher apologizing for his previous decision to stop paying the team’s minor leaguers.

Update (6/12): The Orioles announced they will pay their minor leaguers through the end of the regular season. They originally were scheduled to pay them through June 30.

While Major League Baseball negotiates a return to play with the MLB Players Association, the clock is ticking on continued pay for minor league players.

Non 40-man roster players, with few exceptions, were sent home from spring training in mid-March in response to the coronavirus pandemic. Teams initially made plans independently on paying their minor leaguers during the shutdown before MLB announced that all minor leaguers, with few exceptions, would be paid $400 per week through April 8. That policy was later extended through May 31.

Now, with that May 31 expiration date approaching, minor leaguers face an uncertain financial future. MLB has not announced any plans for a league-wide continuation of the current $400 per week payments and teams are again making plans independently whether or not to pay their minor leaguers past that date.

The White Sox, Orioles, D-backs and Mets informed Baseball America they will continue paying their minor leaguers $400 per week through June. The Rays will do the same, according to Mark Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times. The Cardinals will also do the same, according to Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. The Cubs, Brewers and Giants also reportedly joined the list of clubs to pay their minor leaguers through June.

The Indians informed BA they will also continue to pay their minor leaguers $400 per week through June while additionally maintaining their health benefits through August.

The Marlins and Padres told BA they will continue paying their minor leaguers $400 per week through August. The Mariners will do the same, per Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times, and so will the Red Sox, per Alex Speier of the Boston Globe. The Astros announced they would also do the same.

The Twins will also pay their minor leaguers $400 per week through August. Additionally, the team informed BA that they have no plans to release any of their minor leaguers at this time. Most other teams are making cuts, trimming the number of minor leaguers they have to pay.

The Royals, according to Jon Heyman of MLB Network, joined the Twins in making that pledge pay their minor leaguers through August without any releases.

The Rangers said they will continue to pay their minor leaguers $400 per week through “at least” the end of June. The Braves will also continue to pay their minor leaguers $400 per week through at least the end of June, according to The Athletic’s David O’ Brien.

The Dodgers will continue to pay their minor leaguers $400 per week past May 31. The payments will be made to both their domestic minor leaguers and those in the Dominican Republic.

The Phillies are planning on an allowance for their minor leaguers in June, although it will likely be a reduction from the the $400 per week they received in April and May. The exact amount is still being determined. (Update: The Phillies informed Baseball America they will continue to pay the same $400 per week rate to their minor leaguers through June.)

The Reds made the longest commitment to date. They will pay their minor leaguers $400 per week through Sept. 7, the last day of the minor league season, according to MLB.com’s Mark Sheldon.

The Nationals will continue to pay their minor leaguers in June, according to the Athletic’s Britt Ghiroli and Emily Waldon. The Nationals initially said they were planning to cut pay to $300 a week but reversed that decision after Nationals major league players said they would cover the $100 a week difference. The Nationals are now paying the full $400 a week per diem.

The Tigers announced they are continuing to pay the $400 per week for an unspecified period of time. The Yankees and Rockies announced they are paying the per diem through June.

Angels minor league players will be paid the $400 per diem through at least the end of June Baseball America learned on June 5. The Angels were the final team to make a determination as to whether they would pay their minor leaguers.

The Angels minor leaguers went into June not knowing if they would continue to be paid. Multiple Angels minor leaguers confirmed on the morning of June 5 that they had not received word about payment.

The Athletics first announced that they would not pay their minor leaguers past May 31. But on June 5, A’s owner John Fisher reversed his previous stance, as first reported by Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle, and promised to pay A’s minor leaguers through the end of the minor league season.

The day after the conclusion of the draft, the Orioles said they were extending pay for their minor leaguers through the end of season.

Committed to paying minor leaguers for an unspecified timeframe

Tigers

Committed to paying minor leaguers through June 30

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