Team owners have agreed to begin housing some minor league players beginning in the 2022 season, the Major League Baseball office reported Sunday.
“In mid-September, the owners discussed the issue of housing for players and unanimously agreed to begin covering the housing costs of certain minor league players,” MLB said in a statement to The Associated Press. “We are in the process of finalizing the details of this measure and we anticipate that it will be announced and take effect for the 2022 campaign.”
ESPN, citing anonymous sources, was the first to report the owners’ decision, noting that the league will require teams to begin providing housing, either with stipends to cover the full cost or by carrying out the housing work.
The league did not specify which players would benefit from the new measure.
The measure is expected to reduce the financial burden on players, some of whom earn income from teams that are below the federal poverty line of $ 12,880.
MLB raised the minor league minimum wage by 2021, raising the Class A pay from $ 290 to $ 500 a week; in Double-A from 350 to 600 dollars; and in Triple-A from $ 502 to $ 700, during the five-month season. Players are only paid during the season.
While teams are generally in charge of making hotels available during tours, players are largely adrift during home games. The level of assistance teams provide varies – sometimes junior affiliates are tasked with finding families to host some of the younger players, while some organizations have offered stipends for some or all of their players. The Houston Astros are believed to be the first major league team to make furnished apartments available to all of their players beginning in the 2021 season.
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