The coronavirus impact has been felt across the world. It’s already shut down the baseball season, and now it’s beginning to ruin players’ livelihoods as well as their dreams. With revenues non-existent currently and expected to be way down if there is a baseball season in 2020, organizations are looking for ways to save cash. And unfortunately, a popular option is trimming the fat in the minor leagues. We’ve seen teams left and right start to furlough employees followed by releasing a substantial amount of players in the minors, and the Braves are the latest to make cuts to their roster.
For now, Atlanta’s minor leaguers are still collecting checks. However, who knows how long that may last, but we do know the organization has begun to release some players, according to MLB insider Robert Murray.
Braves released minor leaguers in the last 24 hours, according to multiple sources. Exact number unknown. Known teams to make cuts: Mariners, Brewers, Reds, Mets, Nationals, Orioles, Rockies.
— Robert Murray (@ByRobertMurray) May 28, 2020
This isn’t necessarily unusual at this time of year. With the MLB Draft approaching, players are usually let go to pursue their dreams elsewhere, whether that’s on the baseball diamond or a different profession entirely. However, many of those players could have used these extra months to prove their worth. Now, they may never have another opportunity, and there are undoubtedly a ton of guys across baseball that will lose their chance to pursue a lifelong dream prematurely.
As of now, we don’t know any names of the players that the Braves released, so it could just be a case of them letting go of some guys that were on their way out the door regardless. As a general rule, when running any company, it’s never a wise idea to be cheap. All of the owners are worth billions and make millions off their team each season, so ruining relationships with minor league players in order to save a few thousand dollars doesn’t make much sense. However, minor leaguers across the country are terrified.
Have spoken with a number of minor league players today. The words “terrified,” “scared” and “nervous” have been common. https://t.co/HnnZyTwv0Z
— Robert Murray (@ByRobertMurray) May 28, 2020
We will see how long these cuts continue, but this does appear to be a sign that the minors will not be playing this season, which isn’t all that shocking given the circumstances. This is a week that will be in the minds of people around baseball for years, and for some, the rest of their lives. It is an excruciating development, painting a picture of just how much this pandemic has affected our entire society.
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