Sean Doolittle: Nationals Players Will Commit Funds to Help WAS Minor Leaguers
June 1, 2020
The Washington Nationals cut 30 players from their minor league system while reducing weekly pay for remaining players to $300, according to The Athletic's Brittany Ghiroli on Sunday.
Two-time All-Star relief pitcher Sean Doolittle announced Sunday night that he and other members of the reigning World Series champion Nats are "committing funds to make whole the lost wages from their weekly stipends":
"I really feel for the guys that were let go," one Nationals minor leaguer told Ghiroli. "Most of us live paycheck to paycheck at best, and in this situation, I'm not sure there is much they can do. For us lucky ones still getting help, it's bittersweet. I wish the owners really weighed how much that $100 they cut us back is saving them versus how much it helps put food on the table for us and our families."
Clubs across Major League Baseball have had to address their respective farm systems as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, which prevented the 2020 MLB season from beginning March 26 along with Minor League Baseball's April 9 start.
Jeff Passan @JeffPassanIn normal years, cuts happen but not en masse like this. The fallout from the coronavirus, expected minor league contraction and the anticipated cancellation of the 2020 minor league season prompted organizations each to release dozens of players, who were being paid $400 a week.
The Los Angeles Dodgers are paying their minor leaguers $400 weekly, but Dodgers starting pitcher David Price has committed $1,000 to players no longer on the 40-man roster:
Per Ghiroli, Washington is the only club at this point to reduce salaries to $300 per week.