Closing section from a Johnson City Press article talking about the proposal to eliminate the Appalachian League.
At the winter meetings Manfred told the AP that “obviously there is a way to pay people more without reducing the number of franchises,” but that the question “becomes who should bear all of the costs associated with the player-related improvements that we think need to be made in the minor league system.”
Under the reported salary improvements, players in the Appalachian League will see raises of $110, pushing their weekly salary from $290 to $400. With roughly 30 players on the roster during the season, the player salaries for an entire season would come in at under $200,000 — less than half of the minimum salary for one major league player.
It’s unclear what impact the salary enhancements will have on negotiations.