Minnesota Twins Will Continue to Pay Minor Leaguers

While some teams in Major League Baseball are looking to cut costs and cut out minor league player stipends, the Minnesota Twins are doing the opposite.

Minnesota Twins reporter for MLB.com Do-Hyoung Park is reporting that the Twins have committed to paying minor league player stipends up to $400 per week plus health benefits. The team is also not intending on releasing any players through August 31. On top of that, the Twins will continue to pay salaries and benefits for front office workers through the month of June.

The Twins have seven minor league affiliates that include Rochester (AAA), Pensacola (Class AA), Fort Myers (A-Advanced), Cedar Rapids (A), and three rookie affiliates Elizabethton, GCL Twins, and DSL Twins.

Minnesota joins Kansas City, Houston, Cincinnati, and Washington as teams that are committed to paying minor league stipends. Washington initially decided to cut stipends down to $300/week but changed course today after Nationals players banded together to pay for the salaries themselves.

Multiple teams in the league have turned the opposite direction by slashing the stipend or flat out cutting players. ESPN's Jeff Passan says that over 1,000 minor league players have already been cut.

This could potentially set up the Twins to be a bigger "destination city" for free agents in the future. Without being a huge market, Minnesota has recently gained steam in free agency over the last couple of years and moves like this can only strengthen it. Players can find a sense of security when selecting an organization that has decided not to make cuts in the pandemic world.