Minor league players ratify new CBA with 99 percent approval
Ahead of the beginning of the 2023 Minor League Baseball season, which began Friday, more than 99 percent of the minor leaguers approved a new collective bargaining agreement (CBA), the MLB players association said Friday. The deal was originally agreed to on Wednesday, according to ESPN’s Jeff Passan, and MLB owners are expected to vote on the agreement next week.
“The agreement represents a giant step forward in treating Minor League Players as the elite professional athletes that they are,” MLBPA executive director Tony Clark said in a statement. “It’s a historic day for these Players, their families and the entire Player fraternity.”
A portion of the new CBA included a substantial pay raise, housing and other amenities that minor league players sorely lacked. The pay raises are pretty significant for each of the five minor leagues, including a near 105 percent raise in Triple-A, a 119 percent increase in Double-A and a 148 percent increase in High-A.
Similarly to years past, players will make the lowest pay in Rookie Ball with the highest pay coming in Triple-A. Though the previous pay in Triple-A ($17,500) will be north of $2K lower than Rookie-ball’s newfangled salary ($19,800). Here were the full pay structures salaries released below:
- Triple-A: $17,500 to $35,800
- Double-A: $13,800 to $30,250
- High-A: $11,000 to $27,300
- Single-A: $11,000 to $26,200
- Rookie-ball: $4,800 to $19,800
According to the New CBA, transportation will be guaranteed for players at Low-A and High-A, while players at Double-A and Triple-A will own bedrooms; for those in Low-A or High-A, they can either accept a bedroom at home or exchange that for an undetermined stipend.
MLB is also planning on not reducing the number of 120 minor league affiliates, but are only allowing minor league teams to have a maximum of 165 players during the season (instead of 180) and 175 players in the offseason (instead of 190). This roster crunch would begin in 2024.
Overall, while housing, the pay structure and transportation are still minimal, it’s a step in the right direction for MLB — if approved by the owners — to allow minor leaguers and their families to live a more reasonable life while they’re grinding to make it up to the big leagues since the previous conditions provided the quite opposite of that. There’s still work to be done, but it’s a positive development.
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