MLB: Price pitches in with cash for Dodgers minor leaguers
LOS ANGELES— This week, the Dodgers committed to continue paying a $400 (U.S.) weekly stipend — the equivalent of a spring training per diem — to each of their minor league players through June, falling in line with at least 14 of their competitors across the major leagues in offering some relief to the lowest-paid portion of affiliated baseball’s workforce.
David Price is also stepping up to help on his own.
The Dodgers pitcher acquired from the Boston Red Sox in February has pledged to donate $1,000 to each Dodgers minor leaguer in June. The aid will go to every player in the Dodgers’ farm system not on the 40-man roster — estimated at a little over 200.
Price, 34, has earned approximately $175 million in salary during his 11-year major league career, according to Baseball Reference. He signed a sevenyear, $217-million contract with the Red Sox in December 2015 after beginning his professional career with the Tampa Bay Rays. The Red Sox traded him to the Dodgers, along with Mookie Betts, with two years remaining on his contract.
He was scheduled to make $32 million in 2020 before the coronavirus outbreak suspended the major league season. He is also slated to make $32 million in 2021 before becoming a free agent.
Negotiations between Major League Baseball and the Players Association have been contentious, but there is still hope for a 2020 season. Players would be paid less and the stands would be empty, but there’s hope that MLB will not have to cancel the entire campaign.
The same can’t be said for the minor leagues. The industry consensus is that minor league teams will remain shut down. As a result, those players, paid meagre salaries in normal circumstances, face tremendous financial uncertainty.
Not all teams have committed to paying their minor leaguers beyond May. The Oakland Athletics, for example, have decided to stop paying the stipends after Sunday.