MLB Lawyer Says Minor League Players Shouldn't Be Paid During Spring Training

Major League Baseball does not believe minor league players should be paid during spring training. 

During an appearance in federal court Friday, a lawyer for the league said minor league players should be considered trainees during the spring training period and as such should not be paid, according to The Athletic's Evan Drellich. 

Elise Bloom of the firm Proskauer Rose said:

"“It is the players that obtain the greater benefit from the training opportunities that they are afforded than the clubs, who actually just incur the cost of having to provide that training. During the training season, the players are not employees, and would not be subject to either the Fair Labor Standards Act or any state minimum wage act.”"

Bloom's comments come as Northern District of California Judge Joseph Spero heard arguments Friday for summary judgment in the Senne v. MLB case. The process of summary judgment decides which issues will be heard in trial. 

The Senne v. MLB case began in 2014 when Aaron Senne and 44 other minor league players sued the league and its teams, alleging violations to the Fair Labor Standards Act, which, according to the U.S. Department of Labor, "establishes minimum wage, overtime pay, recordkeeping, and youth employment standards affecting employees in the private sector and in Federal, State, and local governments."

The aim of the lawsuit is to get MLB to pay back wages that minor former players believe are owed to them. Those players feel they are owed money in part because MLB doesn't pay minor leaguers for spring training games, instructional leagues or the postseason.

Because of the lack of pay, minor leaguers are often forced to find a second or third job to support themselves and their families. The league raised MiLB salaries for 2021, but it's still not enough. Here's what weekly salaries look like for minor leaguers across all levels:

• Rookie and Short Season-A: $400 (from $290 in 2020)
• High-A and Low-A: $500 (from $290 in 2020)
  
• Double-A: $600 (from $350 in 2020)
  
• Triple-A: $700 (from $502 in 2020)
  

Senne v. MLB will begin a jury trial June 1. A ruling in favor of the minor league players could be life-changing.