After Sean Doolittle announced that he would not attend a visit to the White House because of the President's divisive rhetoric, others among the Nationals club house did not attend the schedule White House visit Monday afternoon.
Here is the full list of players from the 40-man World Series roster who did not attend the Nats trip to the White House:
Sean Doolittle
Roenis Elías
Raudy Read
Tres Barrera
Anthony Rendon
Javy Guerra
Joe Ross
Wander Suero
Wilmer Difo
Michael A. Taylor
Victor Robles
James Bourque
Koda Glover
Kyle McGowin
Austen Williams
Carter Kieboom
Jake Noll
Adrian Sanchez
Hallie Jackson of NBC compiled the full list of players from the 40-man roster who were present for the meeting with President Donald Trump.
The Nationals are among many teams that cut a portion of its minor-league ranks as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, TheScore’s Robert Murray reported Thursday.
According to ESPN’s Jeff Passan, "hundreds" of minor leaguers lost their jobs Thursday as talks continue between MLB and its players union over the parameters for a salvaged 2020 season.
#STLCards another team releasing minor leaguers today, according to multiple sources. Known teams to make cuts: Mariners, Brewers, Reds, Mets, Nationals, Orioles, Rockies, Braves, DBacks, Rays.
Although both sides maintain optimism that an MLB season will be played this summer, the fact that it would begin without fans in attendance is an indication that the minor-league season—of which teams rely almost entirely on ticket sales and concessions for revenue—is likely lost.
MLB teams agreed in March to pay their minor-league players $400 a week through May 31. However, as many teams have announced series of pay cuts, furloughs and lay offs for their employees over the past few weeks, it started to look inevitable that the minor leaguers would be a casualty of the virus’s economic ramifications once the agreement expired.
Agent telling me he heard one club released 50+ minor leaguers yesterday, “So, they can claim they’re still paying guys, but actually threw a third of the system overboard to save what? Less than 300k? (1/2)
The last few weeks of spring training leading up to Opening Day typically see a significant number of minor-league players cut loose after failing to make team rosters. Since no team had the chance to narrow down its list of players before coronavirus forced the suspension of spring training, many of the players released may have already been candidates to get let go.
However, the sheer number of players that are now unemployed is unprecedented. While the released players are now free agents and free to sign with any club, it’s unlikely many teams bring on new players while the pandemic continues to grip the country.
At the very least until the league and MLBPA—which doesn't represent players in the minors—reach an agreement on how to proceed with the 2020 season, those minor-league players are going to have to find income through another job.
Even with the baseball world on hold, the digs at the Houston Astros surrounding their sign-stealing scandal persist. The latest may be the most clever, as one New Jersey brewery created a custom beer just to take a shot at the Astros.
Departed Soles' newest drink is named "Trash Can Banger" and is a beer dedicated to slighting the Astros' 2017 World Series championship. The drink itself contains 2,017 grams of hops in each barrel, and the can design mimics Houston's well-recognized striped jerseys.
Kulbacki noted that the beverage has created some support among Yankees and Dodgers fans who were heavily impacted by the 2017 events, while people in Houston are not too fond of it. That's no surprise, though Kulbacki was taken back by how many Astros fans remain blind to what happened.
The creation of the beer stemmed from the brewery missing live sports; taking a shot at the Astros in the process was an added bonus.
“We’re all very big sports fans, and we’re all desperate for sports to come back,” Kulbacki said. “We’re desperate for anything to talk about other than a pandemic right now. So we thought it was an opportune time to put out a beer.”
At ballparks or bars, it looks like the Astros won't be escaping the digs anytime soon.
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