Friday BP: More money for the minor league . . . facilities

We’ve all been asking for more money for minor leagues. But it turns out we forgot to specify how we want it allocated.

For now, minor league players remain massively, criminally under-compensated, but their facilities are getting the big bucks. At least it’s something.

Over at NBC Sports Bay Area, Alex Pavlovic reports that the San Francisco Giants are investing more than $50 million in a year-round minor league facility in the Phoenix region.

When it’s finished, Papago will give the Giants a year-round facility in Phoenix that will match or exceed what their division rivals have done in the area. They’ll have two more fields than the current facility and they are being placed strategically for players’ benefits, making it easier for prospects to get their work done and for coaches to schedule workouts. (The current facility leads to some long walks and includes a porta-potty as the nearest restroom for prospects playing in camp games.)

Among other things, the facility will have six baseball fields, including one that has the exact same dimensions as Oracle Park. In a fun homage to the team’s history, one of the fields will also have the same dimensions as Candlestick Park.

While the facility will be great for minor leaguers, it will also serve those on the big league squad. Rehabbing players will put in work at the facility, and Arizona-based players (of which there are many), will have a top-notch spot to put in offseason work.

The facility is scheduled to be finished by the start of 2021 spring training.