The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal reports that Major League Baseball has rejected the MLBPA’s proposal for a 114-game season and has not sent a counter offer. The league said it had started discussions with the owners, “about a shorter season without fans, and is ready to discuss additional ideas with the union.” This should be understood […]
MLB rejected the players’ season proposal for 114 games and does not send a counter — Archyde
Archer began feeling shoulder discomfort late last season. Now his future is up in the air.
Chris Archer out until 2021 due to thoracic outlet surgery — HardballTalk | NBC Sports
Bad news for Chris Archer and the Pittsburgh Pirates: the team just announced that Archer has been shut down until 2021 after undergoing thoracic outlet surgery.
Thoracic outlet surgery, which has become more common in baseball in recent years, is nothing approaching routine. Lots of pitchers have never come back from it or have not come back in anything approaching their previous form.
Archer was shut down late in the 2019 season due to shoulder discomfort. This after posting a 3-9 record in 23 starts and a 5.19 ERA, in 119.2 innings pitched. He pitched in two innings during spring training.
Archer, who originally came up and starred for the Tampa Bay Rays, was traded to the Pirates in the summer of 2018 for Tyler Glasnow, Austin Meadows, and a player to be named later who ended up being minor leaguer Shane Baz. That was already a trade that heavily-favored the Rays. Now it looks even worse for the Pirates in hindsight.
Agent Scott Boras will reportedly cover the salaries of his minor league clients across the league who have been recently been released.
Scott Boras to pay salaries of released minor league clients — HardballTalk | NBC Sports
One day after getting big blowback, the Nationals have reversed course on a puzzling decision.
Nationals back off of minor league stipend cut — HardballTalk | NBC Sports
Yesterday it was reported that the Washington Nationals would cut the weekly stipend paid to their minor leaguers from $400 a week to $300 per week through the end of June.
For frame of reference, MLB had agreed to pay all minor leaguers $400 per week through May 31. Several teams have agreed to extend that, with the Royals and Twins agreeing to do it all the way through the end of August. The Oakland A’s decided to stop the payments in their entirety as of today. The Nationals were unique in cutting $100 off of the checks.
The A’s and the Nationals have taken a great amount of flak for what they’ve done. The Nats move was immediately countered by Nationals major league players announcing that they would cover what the organization would not.
The A’s are, apparently, still sticking to their plan. The Nats, however, have reversed course:
Source: Nationals owners have decided to pay minor leaguers $400 a week after deciding to cut the stipend from $400 to $300.
— Jesse Dougherty (@dougherty_jesse) June 1, 2020
One can easily imagine a situation in which Nats ownership just decided, cold-heartedly, to lop that hundred bucks off of each minor league check and not worry about a moment longer. What’s harder to imagine is what seems to have actually happened: the Nats did it without realizing that anyone would take issue with it, were surprised by the blowback, and then reversed course. Like, what kind of a bubble where they living in that they did not think people would consider that a low-rent thing to do?
In any event, good move, Nats, even if I cannot even begin to comprehend your thought process.
Washington Nationals pitcher Sean Doolittle announced Sunday that he and his teammates will cover pay cuts for minor-league players.
Sean Doolittle says Washington Nationals players will cover pay cuts for organization’s minor leaguers —
Washington Nationals pitcher Sean Doolittle announced on Twitter on Sunday night that he and his teammates will cover a pay cut that minor-league players in the organization will have to endure.
“After hearing that Nationals minor league players are facing additional pay cuts, the current members of the Washington Nationals Major League Baseball club will be coming together and committing funds to make whole the lost wages from their weekly stipends,” Doolittle wrote. “All of us were minor leaguers at one point in our careers and we know how important the weekly stipends are for them and their families during these uncertain times.
“Minor leaguers are an essential part of our organization and they are bearing the heaviest burden of this situation as their season is likely to be cancelled. We recognize that and want to stand with them and show our support.”
MLBPA COUNTER-PROPOSAL:114-game season, expanded playoffs
DAVID PRICE:Pitcher pledges $1,000 to every minor league player in Dodgers’ farm system
SPORTS NEWSLETTER:Sign up now to get top sports headlines delivered daily
The Nationals were to decrease minor leaguers’ pay to $300 per week in June, as reported by The Athletic. This development comes after the organization released more than 30 minor leaguers, according to Britt Ghiri of The Athletic.
The COVID-19 crisis had led Major League Baseball to re-evaluate its plans for the 2020 season, though players and executives continue to clash on major issues. But are some owners willing to scrap the entire season altogether? According to ESPN’s Buster Olney, sources report a handful of owners might be “perfectly willing” to shut down…
MLB Rumors: Are Some Owners OK With Canceling League’s 2020 Season? — NESN.com
The COVID-19 crisis had led Major League Baseball to re-evaluate its plans for the 2020 season, though players and executives continue to clash on major issues. But are some owners willing to scrap the entire season altogether? According to ESPN’s Buster Olney, sources report a handful of owners might be “perfectly willing” to shut down the 2020 season, largely for the sake of their teams’ finances. The goal would be to “slash payroll costs and reduce losses” as teams struggle financially in wake of the coronavirus outbreak. Naturally, finances have been an issue for teams across the league as the pandemic impedes their ability to make money. But teams have taken different approaches when coping with the crisis. Some, like the Minnesota Twins and Kansas City Royals, have agreed to pay minor league players through much or all of the regular season timeframe. Others, like the Oakland Athletics and Pittsburgh Pirates, have slashed benefits (like 401(k)s) and pay. Of course, pay has been a big factor for major league players as the league looks to resume. MLB executives and players have been at odds in recent weeks as players feel the league is attempting to back out of a deal struck March 26 that would give players prorated pay and offer 50-50 revenue sharing as a plausible solution to the league’s financial woes. More MLB: PawSox Turning McCoy Stadium Into Restaurant With Outdoor Seating But, are owners really willing to abandon the season for the sake of money? MLB Network’s Jon Heyman doesn’t think so. “Highly doubtful many owners are anxious (or even perfectly willing) to blow up season to save money,” Heyman tweeted Sunday. “OK, maybe Oakland (based on what it’s done so far). Could be 1 or 2 others, but those are outliers, and as @DavidPSamson points out, it’d take 8 to blow up a potential deal.” Highly doubtful many owners are anxious (or even perfectly willing) to blow up season to save money. OK, maybe Oakland (based on what it’s done so far). Could be 1 or 2 others, but those are outliers, and as @DavidPSamson points out, it’d take 8 to blow up a potential deal. https://t.co/7HF52VlRlY — Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) May 31, 2020 So far, it doesn’t appear to be nearly enough support behind scrapping the season, if there even is any. Whether players and league executives will strike a deal before it’s too late, however, remains to be seen.
Read more at: https://nesn.com/2020/05/mlb-rumors-are-some-owners-ok-with-canceling-leagues-2020-season/
People making $100K are being treated the same as people making $500K under Boston’s pay cut plan
Red Sox employees “livid” over team pay cut plan — HardballTalk | NBC Sports
By Craig CalcaterraMay 30, 2020, 7:09 AM EDT12 Comments
Even Drellich of The Athletic reports that the Boston Red Sox are cutting the pay of team employees. Those cuts, which began to be communicated last night, apply to all employees making $50,000 or more. They are tiered cuts, with people making $50-99,000 seeing salary cut by 20%, those making $100k-$499,000 seeing $25% cuts and those making $500,000 or more getting 30% cuts.
Drellich reported that a Red Sox employee told him that “people are livid” over the fact that those making $100K are being treated the same way as those making $500K. And, yes, that does seem to be a pretty wide spread for similar pay cuts. One would think that a team with as many analytically-oriented people on staff could perhaps break things down a bit more granularly.
Notable in all of this that the same folks who own the Red Sox — Fenway Sports Group — own Liverpool FC of the English Premier League, and that just last month Liverpool’s pay cut/employee furlough policies proved so unpopular that they led to a backlash and a subsequent reversal by the club. That came after intense criticism from Liverpool fan groups and local politicians. Sox owner John Henry must be confident that no such backlash will happen in Boston.
As we noted yesterday, The Kansas City Royals, who are not as financially successful as the Boston Red Sox, have not furloughed employees or cut pay as a result of baseball’s shutdown in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. Perhaps someone in Boston could call the Royals and ask them how they managed that.
Thursday was an undeniably dark day in the sport of baseball. Teams across the sport released hundreds of minor leaguers, transactions largely meant to cut costs with the 2020 baseball season hanging in the balance amid the COVID-19 pandemic and the battle brewing between MLB’s owners and players. But in that darkness came a bright…
David Price Reportedly Paying Dodgers Minor Leaguers To Alex Cora’s Delight — NESN.com
Thursday was an undeniably dark day in the sport of baseball. Teams across the sport released hundreds of minor leaguers, transactions largely meant to cut costs with the 2020 baseball season hanging in the balance amid the COVID-19 pandemic and the battle brewing between MLB’s owners and players. But in that darkness came a bright spot, thanks to one of the game’s most recognizable players. Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher David Price is paying each minor leaguer in the Dodgers’ system $1,000 of his own money during the month of June, baseball writer Francys Romero reported Thursday night, citing sources. What makes the incredible gesture even better, as Romero himself notes, is Price has yet to play a regular-season game with the Dodgers after LA acquired the former Cy Young Award winner in an offseason blockbuster trade with the Boston Red Sox. One of Price’s managers in Boston, ex-Sox skipper Alex Cora, commended his former ace with a tweet Friday morning. David does it again, his best pitch when it counts. 👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽 @DAVIDprice24. pic.twitter.com/2M3iWbbNlJ
Read more at: https://nesn.com/2020/05/david-price-reportedly-paying-dodgers-minor-leaguers-to-alex-coras-delight/
The Rays, Nationals, Mets, Brewers, Mariners, Orioles, and Reds were among the teams to release minor league players from their contracts today.
Teams release bunches of minor leaguers — HardballTalk | NBC Sports
By Bill BaerMay 28, 2020, 4:05 PM EDT3 Comments
The last seven months have been brutal for Minor League Baseball. In November, before the coronavirus pandemic caused many businesses to shut down, Major League Baseball was considering eliminating over one-quarter of their minor league teams. The idea received blowback, including condemnation from sitting members of Congress. Then the pandemic happened and MLB shut down operations for the time being. While MLB works on getting some semblance of a 2020 season going, there will be no minor league season. MLB will get to eliminate 40-plus minor league teams after all, aided in part by the coronavirus.
The baseball shutdown has been tough on minor leaguers, who are only paid — and severely underpaid, at that — during the regular season. They are not paid during spring training or offseason. Thankfully, MLB stepped up and agreed to pay minor leaguers $400 per week through May 31. That day is fast approaching. The Athletics announced they will not be paying their minor leaguers after May 31. The Rangers, Padres, White Sox, Braves, Mariners, Marlins, Dodgers, Diamondbacks, Mets and Astros announced they will continue their players at least through the end of June. The Marlins, Padres, and Mariners will pay theirs through the end of August.
As part of the March agreement in which MLB ownership and the MLB Players Association agreed on prorated salaries for the 2020 season, if there is one, the 2020 draft was shortened to five rounds. The 2021 could be only 20 rounds. Also part of the agreement, teams can sign an unlimited amount of undrafted players for $20,000, a significant boon for ownership considering sixth-round bonus slots last year ranged from $237,000 to $301,600.
Sadly, there has been more minor league carnage. Many teams have been releasing minor league players recently: the Cardinals, Diamondbacks, Rockies, Rays, Nationals, Mets, Brewers, Mariners, Orioles, and Reds are who we know of so far, thanks to reporting from Jon Heyman and Robert Murray. Veteran outfielder Carlos González made the most headlines, as he was released from his minor league contract with the Mariners today. An agent Heyman spoke with called the whole thing “literally a war zone out there.” It’s worth noting that some of these releases likely would’ve happened at the end of spring training.
The Athletic’s Emily Waldon spoke to another agent who was more colorful about the issue. He said, “So, they can claim they’re still paying guys, but actually threw a third of the system overboard to save what? Less than 300k?” The agent added, “Also, why aren’t the players and leagues webpages pages updated with the releases? So no one can see the carnage? Don’t need to clear 50+ spots before a five-round draft.”
The shortened draft is going to cause a lot of players who otherwise would’ve been picked today to play for junior colleges. Some will give up on their baseball dream altogether. Eliminating more than 40 minor league teams — cutting thousands of baseball jobs in the process — will cause many to pick other lines of work. Cutting players in the middle of a pandemic will have the same effect. Long-term, why would anyone choose to chase a baseball dream? It was a tough road before, but it will be even tougher going forward. Two-sport star Kyler Murray chose to pursue a career in the NFL rather than MLB; it’s easy to see younger kids seeing a more realistic and lucrative road in other sports as well. The owners get to save a negligible amount of money in the short-term, but the popularity of the sport is going to hurt immensely from these self-inflicted austerity measures.
Boras says owners are “asking for more salary cuts to bail them out of the investment decisions they have made”
Boras to clients: Don’t bail out the owners — HardballTalk | NBC Sports
It took Major League Baseball owners 10 days to send an economic proposal to the players’ association. It took the union about 10 minutes to reject it. The ability to play any semblance of a regular season depends on the ability of management and labor to reach an agreement. The season has been delayed because…
MLB Players Disappointed by Owners’ Latest Contract Proposal — Variety
The Oakland A’s will follow the lead of other baseball teams hit hard financially by the coronavirus pandemic by instituting widespread furloughs across their organization next week, the team confirmed Tuesday. The A’s will furlough members of their baseball operations as well as their business operations through Oct. 31. In all, half of the A’s…
Coronavirus: A’s set to furlough scouts, half of their front office — Times-Standard
The view from left field 