Toronto Blue Jays doing the right thing for their minor leaguers

In light of the ridiculously low pay that minor league players receive, the Toronto Blue Jays are becoming the first team to actually do something about it.

Over the past couple of years, the pay scale in minor league baseball has begun to receive a great deal of attention. Players are not being paid enough to survive, let alone eat properly and continue on with their baseball careers, particularly in the lower minors. However, as minor league players are not a part of the MLBPA, and as the league has continually fought to keep their salaries down, there has been little recourse for the players.

Finally, one team is taking steps to change that. The Toronto Blue Jays are instituting a pay raise of over 50% for any player on an affiliated team, from the Dominican Summer Leagues on through their AAA team.

Quite frankly, this needs to happen for every team. Those franchises are investing draft picks and resources into these players, but are refusing to pay enough for the players to afford housing or the food needed for proper nutrition. Every player who claimed the ranks from the minors has stories of living on peanut butter sandwiches and Ramen.

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Players in the minors do not even get enough money to afford new equipment at times. Take the story of former Mets draft pick Jeremy Wolf, who had to barter for an extra bat because he only owned three wooden bats. Should they all break, he would not have been able to play.

This is a good start, but it is not enough. At least some of the players on the Blue Jays, particularly in the upper levels of the minors, will be able to focus more on getting better and improving on the field. More help will be needed, particularly for those players in the lower levels, as it comes to housing and affording to eat properly.

However, it is obvious that not every team in on board with making this type of move. The Minnesota Twins, for example, are promoting how their minor league players have second jobs to afford to their living situations in Spring Training. The Blue Jays have taken a step in the right direction, but it is one that the other 29 teams need to make as well.

The Toronto Blue Jays are starting to take care of their minor league players financially. Even if they are the only team doing so at this point, it is a start.