MLB considering large reduction in number of minor league teams

[G-Snarls]

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.cbssports.com/mlb/news/mlb-discussing-potential-overhaul-of-minor-league-system-that-would-cut-more-than-40-teams-report-says/amp/

[G-Snarls]

Sounds like they want to say they will pay higher salaries to minor leaguers, but massively reduce the overall number

[Laika]

Honestly it makes all the sense in the world.

[KevinGregg]

Honestly it makes all the sense in the world.

 

Do we really need

Dominican summer league

Rookie

Rookie+ (or whatever you call bluefield)

Short season a

Regular a

High a

Double a

Triple a

 

Most players are in the minors for 3 or for years so we should have 3 or 4 levels

[Krylian]

Are they gonna cut the draft in half? If teams are currently adding 30-35 players every draft, and 30-50 IFA signings, that has to get slashed in half if they're getting rid of that many teams. Realistically, no other professional sport has the kind of minor league setup that baseball does. From a business standpoint, it's probably the right move.

[Sorrow]

IIRC they would drop to a 20 round draft.

[Grant77]

IIRC they would drop to a 20 round draft.

 

It would be interesting to see the impact that a loss of several stars and a whole slew of role players would affect the talent pool of the league. Russ Martin and Jason Bay come to mind right away. This would really hurt Canadian players.

[Abomination]

It would be interesting to see the impact that a loss of several stars and a whole slew of role players would affect the talent pool of the league. Russ Martin and Jason Bay come to mind right away. This would really hurt Canadian players.

 

I think they mentioned something about more/stronger independent leagues which would take those other players. It might also force more players into college.

[Grant77]

I think they mentioned something about more/stronger independent leagues which would take those other players. It might also force more players into college.

 

Very few big league players come out of independent ball but there would obviously be a big influx of talent. The team to capitalize on that would be in a very advantageous position. There is always a star or two in the latter half of the draft.

[Spanky99]

Very few big league players come out of independent ball but there would obviously be a big influx of talent. The team to capitalize on that would be in a very advantageous position. There is always a star or two in the latter half of the draft.

 

And they'll still be available through College and IBL, it won't change much.

[Laika]

It’s not readily apparent that the draft even needs to shrink. Every team could lose an affiliate, the intake of players into the orgs could be kept essentially at the same volume, and teams could just adjust by releasing players more quickly when they suck in the low minors and promoting succeeding players a wee bit more aggressively.

 

Basically, you just turn up the tempo on the whole system. The same amount of kids enter but the fat falls off more quickly.

 

So much of an mlb org’s minor league system is dead weight and roster filler - guys who have no chance of making it and are arguably being taken advantage of by teams preying on their hopeless MLB dreams so they work for slave wages and support the games for actual prospects

[Krylian]

It’s not readily apparent that the draft even needs to shrink. Every team could lose an affiliate, the intake of players into the orgs could be kept essentially at the same volume, and teams could just adjust by releasing players more quickly when they suck in the low minors and promoting succeeding players a wee bit more aggressively.

 

Basically, you just turn up the tempo on the whole system. The same amount of kids enter but the fat falls off more quickly.

 

So much of an mlb org’s minor league system is dead weight and roster filler - guys who have no chance of making it and are arguably being taken advantage of by teams preying on their hopeless MLB dreams so they work for slave wages and support the games for actual prospects

 

If it's only 1 level that they're cutting, that could work. My guess is it would likely be the Bluefield level.

[bendera3]

I wonder if the league would allow the teams to pick which affiliate(s) they want to drop.

[Krylian]

I wonder if the league would allow the teams to pick which affiliate(s) they want to drop.

 

They may allow a voting process to come to some consensus, but I can't see them allowing each organization to select which affiliate they want to drop. That would completely screw things up if you suddenly have a league with only 5 teams left. I would think it has to be the same across the board

[bendera3]

They may allow a voting process to come to some consensus, but I can't see them allowing each organization to select which affiliate they want to drop. That would completely screw things up if you suddenly have a league with only 5 teams left. I would think it has to be the same across the board

 

I don't disagree with that but it did say there may be some classification changes for teams. I'm not super up to date on the stadium qualities of these teams but I'd have to think that it would be part of the equation.

[Krylian]

I don't disagree with that but it did say there may be some classification changes for teams. I'm not super up to date on the stadium qualities of these teams but I'd have to think that it would be part of the equation.

 

Ah. I misunderstood your question. I thought you meant if the teams had a say in what level gets dropped, not what city gets dropped.

 

That I don't know about. Guess it would depend on legalities and lengths of existing contracts with the cities. No idea how long they typically sign with a city for.

[bendera3]

Ah. I misunderstood your question. I thought you meant if the teams had a say in what level gets dropped, not what city gets dropped.

 

That I don't know about. Guess it would depend on legalities and lengths of existing contracts with the cities. No idea how long they typically sign with a city for.

 

Oooooh no it was more of what towns they want to drop. I imagine most of the A level and rookie level leagues have similar stadiums and can be kinda interchangable. I think it's more about what cities would be on the chopping block due to stadium quality and attendance issues.

[TheHurl]

The independent teams would be owned by MLB and MiLB. They are trying hard not to affect the cities/towns that would lose affiliates. Biggest change might be that Minor leaguers would be partially included in the CBA

[CBlake]

This article gives a pretty in-depth break down on what’s being discussed/proposed. We should see the number of affiliated teams reduced from 160 to 120 not including the two complex rookie teams. The 4 short season A and advanced rookie league would be eliminated and the 40 teams left without a PDC would be moved into these supposed MLB/MILB dreamer leagues. I would think the 40 teams right off the bat would include most of the teams in the Pioneer and Appalachian Leagues. It is also being suggested that the we could see the affiliated leagues being re-shuffled into smaller geographic foot prints etc. It will be interesting to see how this all shakes out.

 

https://www.baseballamerica.com/stories/mlb-floats-proposal-that-would-eliminate-42-minor-league-teams/

[TheHurl]

Draft would be moved to after the CWS which makes way more sense

[CBlake]

Draft would be moved to after the CWS which makes way more sense

 

With the short season A and advanced rookie levels being eliminated I would assume most drafted players would start their careers in a rookie complex league which would begin after the draft?