Nationals will continue paying minor leaguers full stipend after player objections

The Washington Nationals have backed away from a plan to cut minor leaguers’ weekly stipend after the team’s MLB roster publicly called out the decision.

Nationals ownership had originally intended to drop the weekly pay for minor leaguers from $400 to $300. This prompted Washington reliever Sean Doolittle to publicly announce that he and his fellow major leaguers would chip in to cover the lost income. That seems to have prompted a reversal in course from the top.

As of last night, Nats minor leaguers were expecting to have their pay cut to $300/ week. Players decided they'd foot the bill to make up the $400 a month they'd be losing.

But the source tells me the Lerners have decided the team is going to continue paying $400 a month now.

— Grant Paulsen (@granthpaulsen) June 1, 2020

It’s worth noting that, while the full stipend has been restored, Nationals minor leaguers have still not received any assurances that they will be paid beyond the end of June.

Whether it changes things or not, owners who cut or eliminate minor league pay are getting some pretty bad PR while saving a minimal amount of money. That happened to the Oakland A’s as well, though unlike the Nationals, they haven’t rethought their policy in light of the bad publicity.