The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
Lawsuit amplifies need for player draft
Francisco Mejia is not only one of the Indians’ top prospects, he’s one of baseball’s rising stars.
Eventually — if Mejia makes it in the majors — Mejia will strike it rich. Even if he doesn’t become an All-Star, Mejia will be set comfortably if he sustains a relatively long big-league career.
That’s because the average major-league salary is reportedly more than $500,000 per season.
It’s a hefty sum, but getting to that point in baseball isn’t easy. Climbing the minor-league ladder can take years. While in the minors, especially at the lower levels, players make less than minimum wage.
A recent Associated Press story about minor-league salaries had this breakdown for average monthly player salaries:
• $1,100 for rookie ball and Single-A
• $1,500 for Double-A
• $2,150 for Triple-A
• Players also receive $25 per diem on the road.
In many cases, low salaries are off-set by large signing bonuses by some of the top college and high school players drafted — even extending into the latter rounds of the baseball draft.
Minor-leaguers were dealt a blow in March when a new legislation was signed that stripped players of federal minimum wage laws. A small group of players filed a lawsuit four years ago in U.S. District Court in San Francisco alleging Major League Baseball violated the Fair Labor Standards Act and state minimum wage and overtime requirements for a work week.
It’s a blow to minorleaguers, and especially those who come overseas to play. This is where Mejia’s story gets interesting.
Mejia is a switch-hitting catcher who’s 22 and from the Dominican Republic. On Feb. 21, he filed a lawsuit against Big League Advance, a company that provides minor-league players with “resources to help their dream become a reality.”
That’s the statement listed under “What We Do” on Big League Advance’s website. The company’s president and CEO is former big-league pitcher Michael Schwimer. Also on its team is Paul DePodesta of the Browns. He serves as board member and partner.
Mejia’s suit details how he received a $360,000 loan from Big League Advance in exchange for a 10 percent stake in Mejia’s future earnings. An ESPN. com story details how Mejia and his family needed money to be used for medical treatments to assist his ill mother.
Mejia is best-known for his 50-game hitting streak in 2016 while playing for the Captains and High Single-A Lynchburg. He was part of the Indians’ late-season call-ups in 2017 and went 2-for-13 with an RBI in spot duty. This season, he’s at TripleA Columbus, where he’s hitting .229 with a home run and six RBI.
According to the lawsuit, Mejia’s lawyers want the contract between Mejia and Big League Advance to be declared “unenforceable.” They are also looking for “unspecified compensatory damages” for Mejia. Big League Advance has filed a countersuit, and claim they have done nothing wrong.
In the claim by Mejia, Big League Advance is accused of dispatching “runners” throughout areas such as the Dominican Republic. The suits claims these runners approach players who are “young, uneducated and unsophisticated. Few speak English. Most, if not all, come from very modest families who are struggling financially.”
Mejia was signed by the Indians as a non-drafted free agent on July 2, 2012. He was 17 when he signed.
According to ESPN.com, Mejia completed the equivalent of the ninth grade, and he does not speak English.
Improved minor-league pay probably would not have solved Mejia’s family matters. But that doesn’t mean Major League Baseball shouldn’t be held accountable at least somewhat in this case.
The creation of a draft for overseas players is long overdue.
When Francisco Lindor was drafted by the Indians in 2011 with the No. 8 overall pick, he eventually signed a $2.9 million bonus. He spent three full seasons in the minors (including one with the Captains), then a half-season at TripleA Columbus before he made his debut with the Indians in 2015.
Having millions in the bank off-set making peanuts in the minors. But players such as the undrafted Mejia who sign a professional contract (financial terms of his contract aren’t known) before they can drive or vote don’t have the luxury. Having little to no leverage coming from an area such as the Dominican Republic doesn’t help a young players’ cause.
Indians minor-leaguers such as Taiwan’s Yu-Cheng Chang (reported $500,000 signing bonus) and Cuba’s Yandy Diaz (reported $300,000 signing bonus) were fortunate. But the lack of a draft for overseas players makes bidding for those players a process open to criticism.
The allure of pro baseball in the United States has to be intoxicating for players and their families who have next to nothing. The Indians should not be at blame for targeting a player such as Mejia at age 17, but more of a structure for acquiring overseas players should be in place.
It’s impossible to predict how players will grow physically and emotionally, let alone living in a foreign country away from their family.
Each MLB club has founded an academy in the Dominican Republic to help prepare players for professional baseball. The next step should be an overseas draft.
Maybe it would help a future player from the Dominican Republic avoid the mess Mejia is in today.