Weds/Thurs BP: MLB seeks to further cut back on the Minor Leagues

This is not going to be a long article. It is deserving of a long article, in which Rob Manfred and MLB are heavily criticized, but I’m, as the kids say, tired. I’ve written a lot of words about Rob Manfred and MLB’s upside-down shenanigans already, and besides, I’m at the point of the day where I stared idly at the New York Times Spelling Bee, with the only word I could find being “Uggla,” and now I’m staring idly at Dan Uggla’s Baseball-Reference page, reminiscing about what a journey that was.

Anyway, according to a report from ESPN’s Jeff Passan, MLB is proposing that in the next CBA, they be given the power to reduce the Domestic Reserve List — which puts a limit at how many Minor League players an organization can have — from 180 to 150. MLB is reportedly insisting that they have no plans to actually reduce the number, just that they want to have the option to do so. Which is kind of like when you’re a teenager and your parent asks for the password to your computer while assuring you that they won’t use it. It’s just to keep safe for you in case you forget it.

This comes on the heels of MLB eliminating 42 Minor League teams ... including the Salem-Keizer Volcanoes, one of the San Francisco Giants affiliates. That slash of teams was when the Domestic Reserve List was implemented, as there was not a cap on Minor Leaguers prior.

So in addition to the fact that MLB wants to not pay Minor League players a livable wage, they also want to suppress how many players can even have the underpaid job.

Just lovely.

Anyway, here’s a long and very informative thread by Mark Appel, career Minor Leaguer, former No. 1 draft pick, and Stanford star. It’s worth reading through.

How many days has it been since the owners locked out the players?

It’s been 78 days. But even sadder, it’s been one day since this: