Chicago Cubs Raising Minor League Salaries Misses the Bar

The Chicago Cubs were authorized by Chairman Tom Rickets to raise minor league salaries by at least 50%. It’s a step in the right direction and sounds good but it’s not enough.

Minor league player pay lack of pay has been a newsworthy subject of late. The Chicago Cubs will follow in the steps of the Blue Jays and raise minor league salaries by at least 50% in the coming year. From the Chicago Tribune:

"All Cubs minor-leaguers playing under the terms of their first-year contracts will receive a raise ranging from $112 to $295 a week, depending on their level and year of professional ball. The average player will receive a raise of about $200 a week, which equates to an average increase of about 50%, with players at the lower-minor-league levels (below Double A) receiving an average increase of about 75%."

Don’t let the fancy percentages fool you, minor leaguers will still make poverty wages. Teams can pay minor leaguers whatever they want. MLB Owners are the ones refusing to pay players what would

If the Cubs really wanted to make an impact on minor leaguers and their ability to cultivate talent they should zig while everyone else zags. The Cubs could pay players an average salary from the locales they play in.  It would look something like this:

• AAA – Des Moines, Iowa – Average Salary $61K
• AA – Kodak, Tennessee – Average Salary $48K
• High A – Myrtle Beach, South Carolina  – Average Salary 48K
• A – South Bend, Indiana – Average Salary 55K
• Short Season – Eugene, Oregon – Average Salary $57K

They could tweak the final numbers based on what level they are at or how many years a player has been in baseball. This would alleviate financial concerns for minor leaguers, especially ones who didn’t receive million dollar bonuses. It would also allow them to focus on playing baseball year round instead of finding other jobs in the offseason.

If the Cubs (or any team) did this, they would have a huge leg up on additional minor league talent. Instead of hanging up the cleats to find a non-baseball job, late round talent would have a better chance to make it. Minor league free agents would gravitate to the Cubs which would increase their quality across their system, improving overall player development and increasing the odds of finding talent that slipped through the cracks.

The Chicago Cubs giving raises to minor leaguers is a step in the right direction but the teams could absolutely do more if they wanted. For the cost of a low-level free agent, a team could improve its entire minor league system instantly. Minor Leaguers would have better living situations, access to better food, training, and housing arrangements. For owners who are obsessed with profits and saving money, they would be able to cultivate more home grown talent.

The next inefficiency teams will exploit will be paying their minor league players; one team just has to have the guts to do it.