Major League Baseball (MLB) owners have unanimously approved a new Minor League Housing Policy. The move is expected to provide more than 90% of assigned Minor League players across every level with furnished housing accommodations at each MLB club's expense beginning the 2022 season.
The completed 2021 season, which was the first to take place under the new model for player development announced this past February, saw increased salaries, improved facilities and reduced in-season travel as initial steps.
"The owners went into our first season modernizing the player development system focused on addressing longstanding issues that have impacted Minor League players for decades. As part of the new system, owners increased salaries from 38-72% for 2021, improved facilities, provided more amenities and better clubhouse conditions, removed all clubhouse dues, and reduced in-season travel with better geographical alignment," said Morgan Sword, MLB's Executive Vice President of Baseball Operations.
He added: "Owners knew that a change of this scale always meant that more work would need to be done to achieve our shared goals. This step forward recognizes that the unprecedented nature of the past two years has further exacerbated affordable housing challenges across the country that existed before the pandemic. The owners are confident that this investment will help ensure that Minor League players have every opportunity to achieve their dreams of becoming Major Leaguers."
