MiLB teams would be expected to help shoulder some of the financial burdens that come with a pay increaseGETTY IMAGES
MLB suggested "sweeping changes to the minor leagues -- including a significant increase in salaries, a higher standard of living conditions and better transportation -- during an initial collective-bargaining session with the group that oversees the minors," according to sources cited by Jeff Passan of ESPN.com. After years of "weathering criticism and lawsuits regarding minor league pay, MLB appears ready to remedy what long has been considered substandard treatment of its future players." The working agreement between MLB and the National Association of Professional Baseball Leagues, which operates MiLB, expires in September '20. The complexity of such fundamental changes to the system "could complicate bargaining, particularly with regard to the cost and how much each side is responsible." An MLB owner said that the league's position on "progressive policy for minor leaguers has strong support among major league owners." However, the "expectation is that minor league affiliates would pick up at least some of the burden of the various improvements." Currently, MLB "pays the entirety of minor league salaries" (ESPN.com, 3/18).
FOLLOW THE LEADER: The AP's Jake Seiner noted MLBPA Exec Dir Tony Clark yesterday lauded the Blue Jays for giving minor league players a 50% raise, and he "hopes other clubs do the same." The Blue Jays are the first club to announce such a raise, and Clark said, "I’m glad there has been some dialogue and a decision made in the last week to suggest that guys are going to be compensated differently than they may have been in the past." Clark noted conditions in the minor leagues have "not changed much since he played there" in the early '90s. Despite that, the union has "accomplished little at the bargaining table on behalf of minor leaguers." Clark said that he "considers minor leaguers 'a part of the puzzle' for the union" but added that there are "challenges to that relationship." Minor league players are "not part of the major league players’ association, nor are they unionized themselves" (AP, 3/18).
