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How cutting minor league players and teams will affect Major League Baseball

4 years agoStaff Report

Bruce Levine, Elise Menaker and Ryan Sweeney joined host Cole Wright on Cubs 360 Daily, presented by Miller Lite, to discuss the affect of cutting minor league players and teams. 

Dodgers pitcher David Price gave $1,000 to every Dodgers minor league player who is not on the 40-man roster. Multiple reports indicate that around 1,000 players have been released from the minors. The 2020 minor league season is expected to be canceled and there are reports of more than 25-percent of Major League Baseball’s affiliates being cut in the future. 

Sweeney acknowledged Price stepping up to help minor league players; however, he knows what it’s like to be in those players’ shoes. 

“Being a former minor league player myself, these guys don’t get paid enough as it is. The $400 a week helps, but I think that’s less than what people are getting in unemployment,” Sweeney said. “What David Price did was amazing. I think that this whole thing, it affects every single industry and it’s definitely going to affect baseball. I do think that this will affect these minor league players for maybe their whole career.”

Menaker agreed with Sweeney and believed this will not only affect the teams and player, but also will have a direct impact on the local economies.

“I worked in Milwaukee for a couple of years and I have to tell you that Appleton, [Wisc.] relies a lot more on the Timber Rattlers than Milwaukee does [on] the Brewers,” Menaker said. “You can take it a step further; for example, the Pensacola Blue Wahoos, they’re renting their stadium on Airbnb. That just tells you how crazy and how dire times [are] and what these minor league teams mean to these towns.”

Levine went on to add that the Triple-A rosters will have a great impact with players that have been in the major leagues that are trying to get back into the majors. 

Catch Cubs 360 Daily, presented by Miller Lite weeknights at 7:30 p.m. on Marquee Sports Network.

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