Phillies to pay their minor-leaguers through at least June

The Phillies are one of the few teams in pro sports that has committed to all of its full-time employees through the end of the fiscal year (October).

They've also committed to paying their minor-leaguers through at least the end of June. Minor-leaguers were paid $400 per week in April and May.

Beyond that lies uncertainty. The widespread expectation is that there will be no minor-league season in 2020. That doesn't mean all non-prospects in each organization will be released, but it does mean that teams will employ fewer minor-leaguers throughout the summer.

Hundreds of minor-league players league-wide were released this week. It was a shock to the system because of the circumstances and the sheer number of cuts. Most of these players, however, would have been cut at the end of spring training two months ago. Most are players who faced long odds of making the major leagues. One reported cut, per Jon Heyman, is T.J. Rivera, a 31-year-old infielder the Phils signed to a minor-league deal in December. With veteran utility infielders like Neil Walker, Josh Harrison, Logan Forsythe and Phil Gosselin still in the organization, Rivera was unlikely to make the team.

MLB instituted a roster freeze right around the time camps closed. It didn't forbid releases, but teams took longer to make their moves. A primary reason so many cuts occurred this week is that the MLB draft is June 10 and teams are prepping for those new draftees and signings.

Getting released sucks. But it also doesn’t have to be the end of the road. It means that you have to be head and shoulders better than the guys still in the system. But if you wanted to play MLB for awhile you were going to have to be that good anyway. Just have to get to work.
— Robert Stock (@RobertStock6) May 29, 2020

In Los Angeles, David Price himself committed to paying every Dodgers minor-leaguer $1,000 for the month of June. It's an incredible act on Price's part, especially given the fact that he hasn't even yet played a regular-season game with that organization.

The June 10 draft will be only five rounds, which means there will be more than 1,000 fewer kids drafted. Many will go the junior-college route and look to reenter the draft next year. The Phils have had plenty of productive players over the years drafted after the fifth round.