Scott Boras to Pay Full Salaries to Released Minor Leaguers He Represents

Sports agent Scott Boras on Monday "committed to paying" the full salaries of all released minor league players whom he represents, per Jon Heyman of MLB Network.

"Boras said their releases were 'completely unanticipated' and he wanted to be sure they are paid what they expected to receive," Heyman wrote.

The 2020 MLB season is on hold because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The minor league season is expected to be canceled, per J.J. Cooper of Baseball America.

Word emerged Thursday that major league teams had or planned to release hundreds of minor leaguers, per ESPN's Jeff Passan:

MLB reporter Robert Murray listed some teams that released minor leaguers:

The New York Yankees released 45 minor leaguers Monday, per The Athletic's Lindsey Adler.

Other teams will reportedly enact pay cuts. The Oakland Athletics will not pay their minor leaguers their $400-per-week stipends through the suspension of the season, per Shayna Rubin of the Mercury News.

The Washington Nationals planned to cut minor leaguer pay from $400 to $300 per week, per Britt Ghiroli and Emily C. Waldon of The Athletic, but the Associated Press reported Monday the Nats reversed course.

The damage could run deeper than minor leaguer pay in 2020, however, with Robert Sanchez of Sports Illustrated reporting May 19 the results of a survey sent to minor league teams:

"Twenty-four teams (or 35% of respondents) said they were seriously concerned that lost revenue from this season would impact their ability to operate next season or in future years, ranking their level of worry at seven out of 10 or higher. Twelve of the clubs—including two of the 16 Triple A teams that replied and five of the 13 from Double A—said they were 'extremely concerned' about their ability to continue operating in the future: a 10 out of 10.

"Teams were even more bearish about their fellow organizations' prospects: 48 teams (74% of respondents) thought lost revenue would significantly impact other clubs' abilities to operate in the future, answering with a seven or higher. Of those teams, 26 put their concern at a 10."

For now, many minor leaguers are without jobs. Cooper named 135 players who were released Monday, including 39 from the Los Angeles Angels.