Minor League Baseball Unionization One Year Later: ’Now We Just Get to Play Baseball’

This year? The situation has finally changed. For the first time, all minor leaguers will be paid over the offseason, $250 a week for players at home. That’s game-changing (and life-changing) for players like Washington.

“It’s just the peace of mind,” says the 27-year-old reliever, who spent this season with the Triple-A Oklahoma City Dodgers. “It’s not having to worry about what I’m going to do in the offseason, am I going to be able to make ends meet, all of that… It’s helped a lot, honestly, just mentally. I don’t have to stress as much.”...

It paid off. Literally. For the first time, Case says, he finished the season with money in his pocket: He’d never been paid enough to save during the season before. Now, he can invest in pay for training and equipment over the offseason to be at his best in the spring.

“I mean, $30,000 isn’t crazy money, but for us going from $6,000 a couple of years ago to $30,000—that change alone is impactful,” Case says. “It’s going to make a lot of baseball players’ lives better.”

Players in Triple-A now have a minimum salary of $35,800. Double-A is $30,250, High A is $27,300 and Low A is $26,200.