Minor league pay has been a hot topic over the course of the last few years, and more and more players are starting to speak up about it. Boston Red Sox minor league hurler Jeremy Wu-Yelland was one of the more recent players to speak up about it, among others.
minor league baseball isnt meant to be easy and it’s definitely not. not saying the guys that came before didnt have to struggle on the way up but players are struggling just to eat and sleeping on couches. if you’re not trying to help then please for the love of god just shut up
— Jeremy Wu-Yelland (吴昌晨) (@jeremyelland) February 16, 2022
Former No. 1 overall pick-turned bust Mark Appel also spoke on the pay situation.
Career minor leaguer here.
My thoughts on minor league baseball’s problems and potential solutions:
— Mark Appel (@markappel26) February 15, 2022
His thread of Tweets goes on and on, but to sum it up, Appel speaks on the fact that players are not paid in the offseason, workouts take place in retail gyms like Planet Fitness and talks about the struggle of housing. He does note that players will be provided housing by the team this season, which is required, but the pay still remains an issue.
Appel provides suggestions, but his three main vocal point issues are food, housing, and off-season training. Appel suggests teams hire their own chefs, paying players in the offseason, among other things — while the MLB did take care of the housing problem.
Rangers’ minor leaguer Jack Kruger wrote a long Twitter thread, similar to Appel where he shared his experiences.
About to start my 7th season in the minor leagues.
My first-hand experience:
— Jack Kruger (@jack_kruger_) February 16, 2022
Kruger shares that he made just $12,000 for the whole year last season. At one point in his career, seven players shared a two-bedroom apartment — two guys in each bedroom, two in the living room, one in the kitchen.
The catcher also notes that he’s had teammates that were homeless, skipping multiple meals, and getting called up and down 20 times throughout the season, among other things.
Triple-A Worcester’s Zack Kelly was also one of many others to Tweet about the topic, commenting on the MLB cutting the minor league roster size.
Weird way of “growing the game” 🤔 https://t.co/Lwyphl46M7
— Zack Kelly (@zack_kelly) February 15, 2022
Red Sox release Brett Netzer following series of controversial tweets
Brett Netzer hasn’t played since 2019 and decided to go on a rampage of tweets out of nowhere Saturday. He ended up being released after the comments included him calling out Chaim Bloom and admitting to being racist.
Chad Jennings was the first to report his release.
I’m told the Red Sox have officially released former third-round pick Brett Netzer following a series of racist, homophobic, anti-Semitic posts on Twitter.
— Chad Jennings (@chadjennings22) February 26, 2022
Can confirm @chadjennings22 report that Brett Netzer has been released following his series of racist, homophobic, and anti-Semitic social media posts. The Sox confirmed the posts were his (rather than the product of a hack) and then released him.
— Alex Speier (@alexspeier) February 26, 2022
Here’s a look at a few of the Tweets that were sent — his account is no longer active.
Red Sox minor league player Brett Netzer has been released from the team after a series of racist and homophobic tweets the Boston Globe have confirmed came from him and not as the result of a hack. https://t.co/l9kJxvJ9u1 pic.twitter.com/IujUNh7PBd
— chris evans (@notcapnamerica) February 28, 2022
Netzer was a 2017 third-round pick. The 25-year-old second baseman hit .247 with eight homers and 50 RBI across 130 games for Double-A Portland in 2019, also posting a 101 wRC+.
Red Sox’s Cameron Cannon faces Trevor Bauer
Red Sox prospect Cameron Cannon faced Trevor Bauer on the 2020 Cy Young winner’s Youtube channel, ‘Momentum.’
Cannon, Boston’s 2019 second-round pick — Boston’s first pick in the draft after they were forced to give up their first-round pick — is the 42nd ranked Sox prospect on SoxProspects.com. The 24-year-old middle infielder out of Arizona received a $1.3M signing bonus after he was drafted.
The right-handed hitter worked a 2-2 count, fouling off four pitches and whiffing at one, before flying out to center on the HitTrax machine — which measures how far a certain hit would go on a normal field based on exit velocity and launch angle.
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