Minor League Baseball has never faced greater uncertainty than it presently does, with contraction widely expected later this year and significant doubt as to whether a 2020 minor league campaign will even be able to take place. Over the past several days, we’ve seen wide swaths of minor league releases due to myriad reasons. It’s common for players to be released late in Spring Training, but those cuts didn’t happen this year. Between that, the likely absence of a minor league season and the typical wave of releases that precede the annual MLB draft, cuts have been abundant.
The Score’s Robert Murray tweets several clubs who’ve made undetermined numbers of releases: the Brewers, Reds, Nationals, Rays, Cardinals and Blue Jays among them. MLB Network’s Jon Heyman tweets that the Diamondbacks have released a whopping 64 players in recent days. In all likelihood, all 30 teams will make significant cuts. The Orioles, White Sox, Rockies and Mariners are already known to have done so.
Most of the players who’ve been cut loose have yet to be named — and the majority of them won’t be especially recognizable to any but diehard fans of a particular organization. We’ll track some former big leaguers and other notable names in this post and update as more information comes to light…
- The Mets cut 39 players loose this week, with first baseman Joey Terdoslavich and right-handers Nick Rumbelow and Rob Whalen among those let go, according to Roster Roundup. Newsday’s Tim Healey had previously reported an unspecified number of players were being cut loose. Each of Terdoslavich, Rumbelow and Whalen has big league experience. Terdoslavich, 31, was at one point a fairly well-regarded farmhand with the Braves, for whom he appeared in 2013-15. Rumbelow pitched with the Mariners in 2018-19 but hasn’t replicated the high-end performance he showed in Triple-A when working back from Tommy John surgery. Whalen, 26, had announced his retirement at one point but opted for a comeback this past winter. He logged 36 innings between the Braves and Mariners from 2016-18.
- The Red Sox announced Friday the release of 22 minor league players. While none of the bunch has appeared in the Majors, there are some notable names in there all the same. Infielder Nick Lovullo, 26, is the son of former Sox bench coach and current D-backs skipper Torey Lovullo. He’d been with the organization since being selected in the 20th round of the 2016 draft. Boston also cut ties with infielder Juremi Profar — the younger brother of Padres second baseman Jurickson Profar. Boston inked the younger Profar brother to a minor league pact back in November after he’d spent seven years in the Rangers organization. The Boston Globe’s Pete Abraham tweeted the whole list for those interested.
What about Tim Tebow? If you are going to release 39 players you would think he would be one.
All of the guys that have been cut in these moves have been the roster fillers all through the minor league systems for these teams Every MLB would be losing at least 1 minor league team due to the affiliated minor league contraction. Several teams are losing 2 teams. The ones being cut are those that the teams offer very little or nothing at all to the organization and were only there to help fill out the minor league rosters till a better player was obtained through the draft, trade or other transaction. Players that help sell tickets are a benefit to the organization. Tebow sells tickets.
I would be curious to see if that is true. Did attendance actually increase because Tebow was there. After the initial novelty wore off, he’s just another player. This is a moot point since there are no minor leagues this year-or fans
I don’t know about home games, but road games were a circus. I used to go to low A Hagerstown one a year to see the Mets affiliates. They drew a fair crowd, but there were still more empty seats than filled. The two days I went when Tebow was there, there was a line out to the street to get in, and everyone was packed in like sardines. I imagine home games would be similar the first few weeks, then maybe ease up a bit, but still draw a larger than average crowd.
hey so did I!!! you ever seen the keys?
I went to a Tebow game in Pawtucket. I wouldn’t have otherwise. Unfortunately, he didn’t start.
Or maybe fortunately….
Don’t underestimate the holy roller portion of American society.
@Jeter, a good while back, yeah. Talking like the Jayson Werth days, lol.
I’ve been guessing that teams are also cutting guys who 1) will not be playing this year because the minor league season will be canceled and they are not candidates for the 20-player “taxi squad,” as it’s been called, which should have ten guys not on the 40, and 2) are true low minors roster fillers or guys who will be minor league free agents after the season so they won’t be losses for next season.
Because he’s a name that can still sell tickets unfortunately..
Did you read that article about that former minor league pitcher(last name Church)? He had a fairly critical take on the culture of the Mets organization and on the “celebrity” minor leaguer. It was interesting but not surprising. Instead it in my news feed, so not exactly sure from what I source I read it. Yahoo sports in all likelihood.
Former *Mets* minor league pitcher…he still hopes to play.
key word being “hope.”
Tebow haters unite !
Profar will land on his feet somewhere. he did quite well last year at AA and is still quite young.
the dude cant play defense tho, can confirm after watching him 3 straight years iin AA. Slow as all get-out as well
i dont know. the fact that he can play at least a bit at a few positions with decent power and base-hit ability and is only 24 should at least get him another minors job.
Oh i agree. Hes not half bad, and he always seemed to have fun on the field
Les jeux sont faits. Translation: the game is up. Your ass is mine.
Buehler. Buehler.
It’s Ferris, not Walker, so it’s actually Bueller, Bueller…
Good catch, in all likelihood, All American was not born when that movie was released.
yay they didn’t cut tebow?!?!!!
i sure hope they didn’t
He’s a name. He sells tickets.
I like rhubarb
Ooooh, yuck.
It’s the Mets
Let’s just turn MLB into celebrity softball since winning isn’t as important as selling tickets
Yeah I mean the Mets farm is gonna be decimated after losing Joey Turdsandwich and these other career minor league guys.
Tebow’s career is likely over. I don’t see him as a member of the taxi squad for the Mets.
why? he wasn’t cut
Probably didn’t cut him so they can try to milk that cow again next spring. His only purpose on a MLB roster would be to sell tickets. There’s no fans this year, so what’s the point in having him around even on the taxi squad?
he’s not a bad player. he only got bad stats because he’s new and he got injured
He’s not a bad player, he’s a putrid player. He’s got bad stats because he sucks at baseball. He’s taking a spot on the roster that should be occupied by an actual baseball player.
No he’s not. Every farm system has dozens of roster filler. Most clubs have 7 farm teams with at least 20 players. Anything after the top 30 prospects is roster filler.
You know that MiLB Stats by league on MiLB.com has all the transactions for each league, available on one page. You can see the players who have been released so far by league. I believe as of me posting this comment, 340+ players have been cut since May 18th.
MiLB was created, in the decades before cablevision, computers, etc., as live entertainment for those living outside a major metropolitan area. It also gave MLB a developmental program and each team had as many as 12 minor league teams. My great great uncle made it all the way to the D League though no further. That contracted a few years back and it’s contracting again as fans now have more entertainment options and teams have a much better handle on the talent pipeline.
Advance with the times basically…