NEWSLETTER
I think it was the first question for Theo Epstein and Jed Hoyer at the Cubs Convention this year, and for good reason: Are the Cubs finally going to raise the pitifully low salaries of their Minor League baseball players even without some sort of league-wide mandate? His response was something along the lines of Stay tuned, we’re working on that.Â
Well, he wasn’t lying and I’m very excited to share the good news:
More pay for Cubs minor league players: https://t.co/2DWp7gas2N
— Mark Gonzales (@MDGonzales) February 18, 2020
According to a report at the Chicago Tribune, the Chicago Cubs are taking the lead of the Toronto Blue Jays (and San Francisco Giants, as announced earlier today) by raising the minimum salaries for minor league players throughout the organization by at least 50% this year.
According to the Tribune, minor leaguers on first-year contracts will receive a raise ranging from $125 to $295 a week, depending on their level and experience, with the average player receiving approximately a $200 raise.
I’m not entirely clear on how these raises will interplay with the league-mandated increase to Minor League pay this season, as the “AP reported that weekly salaries for the 2021 season will jump from $290 to $400 for short-season and rookie leagues, $290 to $500 in Class A, $350 to $600 in Double A and $502 to $700 in Triple A.” Ideally, this would be on top of that (it’s probably not “on top of that,” but rather “instead of that” in some way), but we’ll see as more details come out. Any raise is better than no raise.
And remember, outside of paying these players what they deserve (and in many cases need to live even moderately comfortable lives throughout the year), paying Minor Leaguers is a competitive advantage. We talked about it when the Blue Jays first announced their salary bump, and the comments from the players told us everything we needed to know. In short, with a more secure financial present, the players felt more able to focus squarely on baseball, particularly in the offseason, when their lives are run by their other (often multiple) non-baseball jobs they need to live. Doesn’t alleviating that concern and allowing players to train (or rest!) year round sound like a valuable part of any player development program?
And as for the financial impact, Brett laid it out for us with some rough estimating last time around:
Some back-of-the-napkin math using average roster sizes and the minor league pay figures from here, bumping the entire minor league system 50% might cost $1 million or less. Think about that. Guys in full-season A-ball currently make about $6,000 to $8,000 for the entire year. Really wrap your head around this stuff ….
In any case, I’m happy Theo Epstein took notice of the Blue Jays, I’m happy he stuck to his word, and I’m happy the Cubs are able to squeeze in a competitive advantage while also doing the right thing. It really is a win-win.
