Report: MLB Seeks Ability to Reduce Minor League Roster Size

The MLB has asked the MLBPA to reduce the size of the Domestic Reserve List, effectively eliminating more minor league jobs.

Kade Kistner | Feb 15, 2022

Darren Yamashita-USA TODAY Sports

According to ESPN MLB Insider Jeff Passan, Major League Baseball is seeking the ability to reduce the Domestic Reserve List which governs the size of minor league rosters.

Currently, each team can roster up to 180 players in their minor league systems. However, the new proposal would allow clubs to cut that number down to 150. This comes on the heels of the MLBPA actively fighting for higher wages for younger players, including those in the minors. There was always going to be a cost in doing so.

The MLB and owners have attempted this numerous times in an effort save money on payroll and eliminate inefficiencies. They already dissolved 42 minor league teams in 2020.

This move would most affect teams that invest more heavily in their systems, disabling them to do so at their current rate. A compromise could grant teams the ability to invest as much as they want in their systems. Meanwhile, teams that wish not to take the risk in doing so would be free pursue that avenue as well.

At the end of the day this proposal is part of a plan to gut or eliminate "inefficiencies" from the minor league system. Between the ability to reduce the Domestic Reserve List, eliminate minor league teams, and reduce the number of rounds in the draft to 20, it seems clear that owners have little desire to pay younger players their value.

Fewer minor league players in a system not only means a smaller payroll, but a smaller pool of players for big league clubs which would entail even more compensation.

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Published Feb 15, 2022

KADE KISTNER

Kade Kistner is the publisher and beat writer for Sports Illustrated's Inside the Phillies. An alumnus of Tulane University, Kade graduated in 2017 with a degree in Latin American Studies and a minor in Spanish. Upon graduation, Kade commissioned into the United States Navy and attended Naval Flight School in Pensacola, Fl. He served as a Naval Aviator and was stationed in Jacksonville, Fl. During his time in school and the Navy, Kade began covering the MLB and NFL with USA Today, SB Nation, and Sports Illustrated. Kade covered the New Orleans Saints, Texas Rangers, and numerous other teams within the Sports Illustrated network before launching Inside the Phillies, Inside the Astros, and Inside the Cubs. You can follow him on Twitter at @KadeKistner, or if you have any questions or comments he can be reached via email at kwkistner@gmail.com.