Yesterday brought a slew of news regarding minor league ballplayers. Players like T.J. Rivera, Carlos Asuaje and Juremi Profar were returned to the free-agent pool after rounds of cuts from their minor league teams. There was also a smattering of good news, including a report of David Price giving $1K to each minor leaguer on the Dodgers’ 40-man roster.
Today brings a new round of news about how teams are deciding to treat their minor league players during this trying time. While these cuts seem gaudy, it’s important to note that most teams waited on their spring training cuts, actually extending the pay for many of the players now being cut loose. Every year a round of these cuts occur, and it’s not solely an effect of the coronavirus shutdown. That said, Baseball America’s JJ Cooper is compiling a running list of the number of players released by each organization and comparing those numbers to their releases in 2019 and 2018. As news continues to filter out little by little about each organization’s cuts, let’s try to round up some of that info here…
National League
- The Giants cut 20 players from their minor league system on Thursday, per Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle.
- The Diamondbacks have been the most egregious offenders in this department with 62 players released, as noted by Cooper, while MLB Network’s Jon Heyman had the number of Dback releases at 64.
- It’s not clear if we have the entire list of minor league players released by the Rockies, but The Athletic’s Nick Groke has a list of 15 players with confirmed releases. Groke notes that the Rockies refused comment or confirmation.
- Cooper also listed the 30 players released by the Braves this week. He notes 31 released last year at this time and 24 the year before.
- The Mets released 39 players, including right-hander Nick Rumbelow, formerly of the Yankees and Mariners. The Mets, of course, are weighing options in terms of selling the franchise after reporting losses of up to $150MM even if an 82-game season eventually gets underway.
- The Phillies released T.J. Rivera, but a comprehensive list of players released by the Phillies isn’t yet known.
- Jim Goulart of Brewerfan.net tweets a list of 30 minor leaguers released by the Brewers thus far, though the list may be incomplete. Goulart compiled the list from milb.com. Veteran Andres Blanco was among those released.
- The Cubs’ total list of releases reached 28 by the end of the day yesterday, with Brock Stewart and Asuaje two of the better-known names.
- The Nationals have released more than 30 minor leaguers, per Britt Ghiroli of The Athletic, a number that includes many of their minor league free agents. The club has committed to pay minor league players $300 weekly through June.
- The Reds and Cardinals are said to have released payers, but the number of players released isn’t clear at this time. Big picture, the Reds have committed to paying their remaining minor leaguers through the end of the minor league season in early September.
- The Pirates have yet to release any minor league players, according to Rob Biertempfel of The Athletic, though he adds that the club is still deliberating on roster moves so such a decision can’t be ruled out. Meanwhile, Pittsburgh has committed to paying players through at least June.
American League
- The Rays released “20 or so” players, as per Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times.
- The Mariners released more than 50 minor leaguers.
- The Astros released 17 players, all listed here in a tweet from Baseball America’s JJ Cooper. Cooper recalls the Astros number of player cuts from past years, comparing this year’s 18 released players in March through May to 10 players released in 2019 and 24 in 2018.
- The Orioles cuts came out early, with 37 players listed.
- The White Sox let go of 25 players, including Josue Guerrero.
- The Red Sox released 22 players, with Nick Lovullo and Profar two players with some name recognition who are among those released.
- The Twins and Royals are bringing the best bit of news, as neither organization has made cuts to their minor leaguer systems. Given the number of releases league-wide, it’s a notable decision from these clubs.
- The Athletics, meanwhile, have informed their minor leaguers that their pay will be suspended as of May 31.
- The Blue Jays have released 29 minor league players, according to Shi Davidi of Sportsnet. On the bright side, retained players will be paid through the end of June.
On the plus side, teams like the Marlins, Padres, and Mariners will pay their minor leaguers through the end of the season, though releases are still considered a normal course of business. Many clubs have committed to paying their minor leaguers either through the end of June or the end of August.
The Athletic’s Alec Lewis shed some light on the Royals’ mindset, providing a quote from Royals GM Dayton Moore (via Twitter). Among other insights, Moore said, “…we felt it was really, really important not to release one minor league player during this time, a time we needed to stand behind them.”
Salute to the teams still paying their minor leaguers. Good on those clubs
Funny….crickets from the Nutting Wallet idiots. And people who use that term to rip ownership are just that: baseball idiots.
So Pittsburgh is committed to pay their minor leaguers through June & as of yet have released no one, but Clepto, you’re still criticizing them for not reporting something. I think you swung & missed the point completely.
Wrong. Comprehension is a weak area for you? Try again.
Clepto makes a good point here; people shred Nutting and his lack of spending on this site constantly yet receives no credit for taking care of the little guys, the minor league players.
Whereas people come on here, like the tool Jays fan talking about saving 2-million a few comments below, talking about how classy the organization is. Funny considering Blue Jays ownership may be the richest in baseball and have much deeper pockets than Nutting. Who’s the cheapskate?
I thought Price was giving money to minor players NOT on the 40 man roster. Was that reported incorrectly?
Yea, kind of weird if he gave 1k to someone like Kershaw lol
Kershaw isn’t a minor leaguer.
Dbacks made a lot of shockers. Lucas Herbert looked like he was finally putting it together last year. Cody Reed is frequently injured but still young.
As I understand it the teams are not required to pay their minor leaguers. So my question is: in theory couldn’t all these guys be signed/gained control of for free at the moment?
well that’s why ive assumed its just routine pre-draft cuts, but DBacks dont seem to think that.
94yankees – depending on the age and contract these young players were signed (either draft on international) under, teams control them for five to seven years. A great example is the soxprospects.com under the LIST tab shows the year each player can become a free agent if not added to the 40 man roster. They also have lists for rule 5 draft eligibility. All the MLB teams have such a list.
Many, many minor leaguers are signed before spring training hoping to catch on with a team….most do not and are granted free agency at the end of spring training. That is why you see as many as 30 to 40 players released at the end of spring training every year. Most years MLB trade rumors and other sites do not even cover most of these moves because the season has already started and they are busy with moves on the 25 man roster. This year these moves are being covered, because that is all there is. After 7 years in the minors most non-40 man roster minor leaguers can sign with whoever they want, and many move from team to team regularly hoping to make the MLB, but with as many as 1000 players added between all the teams each year between draft, international, and non-drafted players it makes sense that the older minor leaguers who have not made the MLB need to filter out of baseball as releases after spring training.
No as there is a transaction freeze.
Most of these cuts would have happened anyway at the end of Spring Training, but people are expecting teams to pay players just because. I like rooting for a financially sound team.
The majority of these teams a saving less than 2 million dollars by releasing these guys before September. It’s not like they’re going to go broke paying them.
Hopefully the teams that are committing are the ones who have an easier time attracting players to latch on in the future. A little good will now could go a long way in the future.
JD – players sign with teams they have the best chance of getting to MLB. MLB teams with 5 sound starting pitchers for their rotation will have a harder time finding minor league starters. The same goes for other positions, and weak teams have an easier time attracting good minor leaguers, because there is more opportunity to reach the $550,000 minimum MLB salary
If I am a AAA player making $40,000, I would want to sign with a team that I can get called up and make $550,000. Baseball is a job like any other and going a pay jump from mailroom worker to CEO pay sure sound like the best team to play for…..
Yes that is all true. I guess I hope teams in similar positions as others get rewarded for their investment in players.
The reward is good PR with fans, who are their customers.
I would like to see all of the releases by team in 1 list please…
JJ cooper has been releasing them on Twitter.
Baseball America said they will have a new minor league transactions post next week that will contain all the cuts
The Roster Roundup page has at least most of them
Thanks all. But having them HERE would have made the most sense,
Teams are doing the release players right by letting them go now so they can get on w/their lives unlike the non-released players who will get their pink slips in Sept.
I thought Price paid over 200 minor leaguers 1k? Not just ppl on 40 man, but every minor leaguer in the dodgers system?
It’s a type-o. He’s paying $1,000 to each minor league player NOT on the 40 man list. Estimates are that he’ll be paying close to 200 players this money. Hats off to him, as he hasn’t even played a game for the Dodgers yet. Classy move.
kind of sad he’s doing what the front offices should be. I mean seriously what’s $200,000 to the billionaire owners?
Are these procedural and happen every year? Yes.
Are some teams cutting more players than usual because of COVID-19 losses? Probably.
Would it have been hard for owners to recognize the abnormal circumstances and commit to paying them regardless? Probably not.
Is it a missed opportunity to provide some much needed positive press right now? Yep.
This is actually good news for the players who are released as they can now file for unemployment (I believe). Those under contract cannot file for benefits.
They’re not usually eligible for unemployment because they’re not considered employees of their clubs, they’re considered “seasonal apprentices”. But I think the CARES Act at least allows them to receive some compensation.
The Padres have not released anyone! Way to go, along with the Royals
The Royals are 26th in payroll and all of a sudden they want to make paying players a moral issue. Stop it!!
they’re in a rebuild…
They’re in a re-build, and have brand new ownership that just invested in the team this off-season. They new ownership has seen 0 profit so far and it will be years before they break-even. They definitely could have cut a few players and nobody would have said anything negative about them. Definitely classy by the Royals organization.
These minor league transactions happen every year but with very little notice. ML teams often carry a surplus of players in a extended spring training program from April to mid June. Once the draft takes place, clubs supplement their Rookie league rosters with draft picks and players from the extended programs. Players deemed not ready are released and soon grabbed up by Independent clubs looking to fill their rosters. The real impact here is MiLB baseball and Independent leagues seasons being cancelled because of the pandemic thus eliminating a lot of job opportunities these released players would have benefited from.
Yes, these guys being cut happens every year. Draft 40 players, sign 25 to 30
Somebody has to go. It’s independent baseball or nothing
Dream over – find a real job
Notagain27 and keysox – you two get it!!!!!
Releases happen EVERY YEAR and in the same or nearly same quantity. I have been following this annual musical chair routine every year for 40 years. It is only getting press this year, because there is very little real content.
Last season (2019 pre coronavirus) the Red Sox released 27 players in January and 17 in March for a total of 44. Many of the released were at or near the end of their 7 years of minor league control. The rest were minor league signees who were simply not good enough to make the MLB and as notagain27 stated needed to be moved to make room for draftees and international signees.
“The Diamondbacks have been the most egregious offenders”
Little bit extra don’t you think? Plenty of ways to say they lead the league in cutting minor Leaguers.
Is there a comprehensive list of all of the minor league players released?
Most if not all of these cuts are never gonna wear a MLB uniform. I wonder how many 25,26,27 year old
guys are gonna be on this list. Time to grow up and be an adult and take care of things.
Baseball doesn’t pay them anything so they work off-season jobs to make ends meat as well as take care of all their training needs. I would say that is pretty grown up.
NOT on the 40 man roster. You gotta be kidding me. Check your facts much?
People were calling the Cubs Front Office & Ownership Dirt Bags yesterday for having the highest total of players released……..now that player release total is taken over by the Diamondbacks………where are the critics at ?……..must have been White Sox, Cardinals & Brewers fans screaming their jealousy hatred out !
i didnt see anyone call the cubs dirt bags
Go back to the article about the Orioles. Those comments are harsh.
I be shocked if more than three of the total players who were released ever make it back to a MLB 25 man roster.
Why are these teams being portrayed as evil for releasing minor leaguers? In reality, they do this every year. Minor leaguers are released every year in June to make room for the next year’s draftees and international guys. This year, the cuts came a little earlier just because there is no minor league baseball being played. These guys are not earning money right now, so why should they be paid. It’s not their fault, but it is not the owner’s fault either.
because people are narrow minded and think everything that happens during tye pandemic must be heavily scrutinized and going about business as usual is apparently evil.
The A’s are even worse than the teams that cut waaaay more minor leaguers than usual. At least released players are free to find other work while they’re not being paid. The A’s players aren’t being paid, but they can’t go do anything else, even if baseball jobs are limited globally right now.
MLB trade rumors did not even cover roster cuts all of the roster cuts and releases this year before coronavirus hit. I had to go to other sites to get the lists of cuts…..now it is a big deal because there is little else to cover and many commenters are acting like the cuts and releases have never happened before or that it is because of corona……and that is not true.
MLB trade rumors content is still better than MLB.com’s make believe games……
TJ Rivera has batted .304/.335/.445 in a not insignificant amount of MLB at bats, and .335/.375/.490 at the AAA level. Someone needs to give this guy more of a shot. There are far worse guys getting more at bats on the left side of the infield.
David Price is giving 1,000 to minor league players not on the 40 man. So either your wrong or the guy that wrote the article yesterday about David price giving $1000 to dodgers minor league players is wrong. Considering the other article I read that you wrote had many mistakes not only grammar but about the players itself I am going to say you are wrong because you can’t write worth a crap.