Major League Baseball has long been criticized for the pay the league gives to its minor league players. The pay for minor league baseball players is about to change thanks to a new agreement between the MLB and MLB Players Association.
The MLB and MLBPA have agreed to the first-ever minor league collective bargaining agreement, according to ESPN's Jeff Passan. The deal is for five years and affects pay at every level of MiLB. Passan shared details on the new payment structure:
Details on pay increases in the minor leagues:
Complex league: From $4,800 per year to $19,800
Low-A: $11,000 to $26,200
High-A: $11,000 to $27,300
AA: $13,800 to $30,250
AAA: $17,500 to $35,800Players will be paid almost year-round, aside from a six-week break in the winter.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) March 30, 2023
Passan stressed that there are a ton of details to go through given the historic nature of this agreement. The CBA is ratified among player leaders, but is tentative pending “until the rank-and-file agree, which the union expects,” Passan tweeted.
On the MLB side of things, this league office negotiated this agreement. The agreement still requires the approval of MLB team owners before it goes into effect officially.
One detail revealed by The Athletic is that minor league players will now have a formal grievance system. Furthermore, there will be no contraction of minor league teams for the duration of this CBA.
However, the MLB is making changes to the Domestic Reserve List. The Domestic Reserve List sets a limit on the number of players an organization can have outside of Latin America. The list goes from 180 to 165 in 2024.
This agreement has been expected since late August. The MLBPA sent union authorization cards to minor league players, a major step toward organizing as a union and putting them in a position to negotiate this type of agreement.
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