Nationals will restore minor league pay after Sean Doolittle pledge

The Washington Nationals will be restoring pay to their minor leaguers after players with the big club announced they'd be covering the difference in pay, according to ESPN.

Washington originally 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 have since decided to continue paying the players $400 per week through the end of June.

MLB mandated that all clubs pay their minor league players $400 per week through the end of May. Now that it's June, many clubs have released over a dozen minor league players in an effort to save money.

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.