This isn't, imo, a petty/short sighted decision. The guys getting cut will become eligible and receive money from the government.
https://www.thetimesherald.com/story/sp ... 264181002/Why are they paid so little? Minor leaguers aren’t considered employees of their parent clubs, but “seasonal apprentices” under the provisions of the "Save America's Pastime Act," included in the massive 2018 federal tax cut bill.
Under those provisions, they wouldn’t normally be eligible for unemployment benefits. However, former National Labor Relations Board chairman William B. Gould IV says their situation has changed due to the coronavirus pandemic.
“It’s clear that independent contractors, as well as so called ‘gig workers,’ are entitled to get the pandemic unemployment compensation,” Gould tells USA TODAY Sports, comparing their situation to that of drivers for ride-sharing services Uber and Lyft.
This would mean that not only would those players be eligible to receive unemployment once their parent club stops paying them, but they would also be entitled to the additional $600 per week Congress has authorized through July 31.
Since minor leaguers are classified as contractors and not employees of the team, as major league players or front-office staffers are, “(MLB) doesn’t have the skin in the game that they normally have because the public is going to be picking up the tab,” says Gould, who’s now a law professor emeritus at Stanford University.
In the case of the A’s players, having those payments from the team cut off sooner rather than later might be to their benefit – since the unemployment payment, plus the extra $600 per week, would be much more their current income.
Couple different alternatives:
1. The releases are all (or mostly all) players that would've been cut at some point throughout the season anyway, they're just happening en masse now (as there have been none so far that I know of) to allow them to benefit financially (lol at that statement but still technically true).
2. There is some sort of agreement b/w teams to let the players go so the players can access the stimulus funds and will be brought back by the original teams when the pandemic is over.
Maybe there's a 3rd option.
