Angels News: Halos to continue minor league stipend through June

The Los Angeles Angels are prepared to continue paying minor league players a $400 stipend through the end of June.

After weeks of silence, the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim are one of the final teams to announce that they will continue to pay minor league players through the end of June, sources tell Maria Torres of the Los Angeles Times.

With the Major League Baseball and minor league seasons in a state of suspension since mid-March due to the ongoing Coronovirus pandemic, teams agreed to pay a weekly stipend of $400 to minor league players. However, that stipend was originally negotiated to last through the month of May, leaving in doubt how much or if minor league players would continue to be paid from June 1st onward. Today’s news likely comes as the first paychecks of June were issued.

To date, most teams have announced their intentions to continue the subsidies to their already underpaid prospects, with the Mets, Brewers, Giants, Indians, and Cardinals joining the Angels in continuing the stipend through the end of the month. Other teams have stepped up to push that further, including the Tigers, Twins, Marlins, Padres, Mariners, and Royals who will pay through the end of the season. The Nationals briefly announced they would reduce the stipend to $300 weekly, but after MLB players stepped up to subsidize it, ownership reversed course.

The Oakland Athletics remain the only team that has completely terminated the stipend as of the end of May.

The Angels’ news comes amid silence from the front office. The organization was already under fire for furloughs in the front office, including most of their minor league operations departments and coaching staff ahead of the MLB Draft. Anaheim then made several cuts among the various MiLB rosters before any announcement was made in regards to the stipend situation, casting doubt as to how the Angels would proceed in that regard.

"Could Angels pitchers be non-tender candidates due to finances?"

According to the latest franchise valuations by Forbes, the Angels were estimated to be worth $1.975 billion earlier this year, even in the wake of COVID-19. However, the pandemic is expected to cost the team $110 million in revenues if the season were played without fans. That has left the team scrambling to reduce its financial commitment while the league negotiates with players over salaries should play resume.