Report: MLB Asks to Eliminate ‘Hundreds’ of Minor League Player Jobs In Latest Proposal

In its latest proposal to the players union, MLB asked for the power to significantly trim the number of minor league players.

Major League Baseball asked the MLB Players Association for the ability to eliminate ‘hundreds’ of minor league playing jobs in its latest proposal amid heated labor negotiations between the two sides, according to ESPN‘s Jeff Passan.

The league proposed to reduce the maximum number of minor league players on the Domestic Reserve List—the list which governs the number of minor leaguers a team can roster at any time—from 180 to “below 150” for the remainder of the collective bargaining agreement, per Passan. On the proposal, MLB made clear that the number would remain at 180 for the 2022 season. 

While the league has no concrete plans to reduce the size of the list in 2023 and beyond, the commissioner‘s office wants the flexibility to do so, according to Passan, who reported later Monday night that the MLBPA will reject this proposal.

While the MLBPA represents only major leaguers, it does bargain for a number of amateur/minor league issues. Among those: the draft. The union in July proposed a 20-round draft, something that the league accepted, one of the few points on which they've agreed during negotiations.

— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) February 15, 2022

The player‘s union does not represent minor league players, but issues that affect individuals on 40-man major league rosters are a part of the bargaining negotiations. ESPN reports that the union declined to comment on the league's latest proposal regarding the Domestic Reserve List.

The minor league system has been a major point of contention in recent years and has already undergone sweeping changes. Last offseason, MLB eliminated 42 teams and hundreds of player jobs from the minor-league system as part of a regional reset that gave each major league franchise an affiliation to four minor league teams. MLB did increase pay to minor leagues in 2021 and teams are mandated in 2022 to provide housing for minor league players for the first time. However, a number of issues regarding the minor league system remains unresolved, including whether or not minor league players should continue to be unpaid during spring training.

According to The Athletic's Evan Drellich, MLBPA officials came away “underwhelmed” by MLB’s latest collective bargaining agreement proposal during Saturday’s meetings. No deal has been put into place with spring training already unofficially pushed back, with its original proposed start date of Feb. 16 clearly unattainable and the scheduled start of the 2022 season just over a month away.

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