Washington Nationals players will pay the salaries of the organization's minor leaguers. Sam Navarro-USA TODAY Sports

Nationals players pledge to cover minor leaguers' salary cuts

By Erin Walsh | Last updated 6/1/20

Washington Nationals players are being very generous amid the coronavirus pandemic and the uncertainty of not only the 2020 Major League Baseball season, but their salary instability as well.

The Nationals announced Sunday that they'd be cutting the salary of all minor-league players this month as a result of financial hardships due to COVID-19, but the big-league players have decided to cover the difference on their own, according to MASN's Mark Zuckerman.

MLB mandated that all clubs pay their minor league players $400 per week through the end of May. Now that it's June, the Nationals will be paying their players $300 per week while some clubs have made the difficult decision to release their minor leaguers altogether. Washington, along with many other clubs, released two-dozen minor-league players last week due to the unforeseen circumstances.

Within hours of the news breaking that the Nats would be cutting salary for their minor-league players, the major leaguers held a video conference call and voted to cover the reductions themselves.

Pitcher Sean Doolittle announced the news via Twitter:

pic.twitter.com/heUXa70dn9
— Obi-Sean Kenobi Doolittle (@whatwouldDOOdo) June 1, 2020

While other clubs are cutting pay, the Kansas City Royals, Houston Astros, Minnesota Twins and Cincinnati Reds have made the decision to pay their minor-league players $400 per week through the entire season.

The 2020 MiLB season is expected to be canceled. If and when the MLB season begins, teams are expected to have expanded rosters in order to carry minor league players in case someone suffers an injury.

On Sunday, the MLBPA proposed a 114-game season beginning on June 30 that would end on Oct. 31 and include a two-year playoff expansion from 10 teams to 14 teams, the right for players to opt out of the season and a potential deferral of salaries if the postseason were to be canceled.

The league and Players Association have been struggling to come to an agreement, and players are concerned about health, safety and pay cuts, among other things. Owners made their proposal to the union last week, suggesting a "sliding scale" salary structure, but the players didn't like the suggestion.

MLB is expected to dismiss the counterproposal, according to Passan, but the two sides are going to need to work something out if they plan to have a 2020 season.

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