Union head praises Jays for pay bump in minors
DUNEDIN, Fla. — Union head Tony Clark lauded the Toronto Blue Jays on Monday for giving minor league players a 50-percent raise, and he hopes other clubs do the same.
Representatives from the players’ association visited Toronto’s spring training camp a day after The Athletic reported the team planned to boost pay for all minor leaguers, some making as little as $1,100 a month during the fivemonth season. By comparison, the major league minimum is $550,000 per year, and the top players make more than $30 million annually.
Minor league salaries are paid by major league teams only during the season, so players do not get compensated during spring training or the offseason. Those who don’t receive lucrative signing bonuses often struggle to afford meals, rent and basic equipment like cleats and bats.
The blue Jays are the first club to announce such a raise.
“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,” he said. “We’ll have to see how other teams either do or don’t fall in line behind them.”
Kershaw’s streak of openers over
Manager Dave Roberts said Clayton Kershaw will not be starting for the Los Angeles Dodgers on opening day, ending his streak of pitching eight consecutive openers.
Kershaw has dealt with left shoulder inflammation during spring training and has yet to pitch in a game. The lefthanded ace is scheduled to throw live batting practice Wednesday, but there are no plans in place after that.
Roberts says it is unlikely Kershaw would open the season on the active roster.
The Dodgers are considering Walker Buehler and Rich Hill as opening-day starters. However, Buehler has had a sore shoulder, and he will not make his first spring appearance until Tuesday, when he is set to throw three innings.
The Dodgers open the season on March 28 at home against Arizona.
Mariners, A’s open Wednesday
MLB gets a jump-start to the opening of the 2019 season Wednesday when Ichiro Suzuki returns to his native Japan when Seattle and Oakland open the season with a two-game set at the Tokyo Dome.
Suzuki, 45, a 10-time All-Star, is nearing the end of his storied career after he hit .205 in 15 games last year before moving into the Mariners’ front office. But the lure of playing another game or two in his home country helped draw him back to the field this spring.
The two teams also faced each other in the last opening series at Tokyo, splitting two games in 2012.
After the Mariners and A’s leave Japan, they will return to the United States to finish out spring-training games before the rest of MLB begins the regular season March 28.
Odds and ends
The Texas Rangers’ fear that pitcher Yohander Mendez would miss the entire 2019 season was allayed when an MRI exam revealed the 24-year-old had a Grade 1 sprain of the left ulnar collateral ligament. “It’s really good news. I think we dodged a bullet,” assistant general manager Shiraz Rehman said. “There’s some inflammation and some fluid in there, but no surgery at all. At his point, six weeks of no throw, and then we’ll build him back up.” That timetable calls for an April 29 return to throwing, beginning on flat ground from a close distance. By the time Mendez is ready to pitch in a game, it is likely to be another six weeks, probably in mid-June. … Gio Gonzalez and the New York Yankees agreed to a minor league contract. New York had been seeking more pitching following a shoulder injury to ace Luis Severino, who will not be available until May at the earliest. In addition, CC Sabathia likely will miss the first week or two as he recovers from an offseason that included knee surgery and the insertion of a stent after a blockage was found in an artery from his heart. Gonzalez, 33, was 10-11 with a 4.21 ERA last year for Washington and Milwaukee. … The Cincinnati Reds expect lefthander Alex Wood to open the season on the injured list as he recovers from a sore back that has limited him during spring training. Manager David Bell said it is likely Wood will miss the first couple weeks of the season as he tries to catch up.