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As federal legislators weigh a spending bill today, the financial fates of thousands of minor-leaguers hang in the balance. That’s because, as Maury Brown of Forbes and Mike DeBonis of the Washington Post are among those to report, the bill presently includes a carve-out of minor-league players from certain labor protections.

Rather cynically dubbed the “Save America’s Pastime Act,” the language would amend the New Deal-era Fair Labor Standards Act. Young sub-MLB ballplayers would be removed from the purview of minimum-wage and overtime protections. Instead, they’d be entitled only to be paid the minimum wage required for a forty-hour work week, during the season, “irrespective of the number of hours the employee devotes to baseball related activities.”

Evidently, the pending legislation provided an opening for this previously proposed but never-enacted exemption, which would be expected to largely forestall several pending lawsuits that challenge current labor practices with regard to players who are not on a 40-man roster. Even as the league has litigated those matters, the reports detail, it has boosted its spending on lobbying efforts in recent years in search of another way of dealing with the claims.

By Brown’s count, at any given time there are about 6,500 players working in the minors without 40-man spots. They are only paid while actually playing games in a MiLB industry that Brown says drew over 41 million in attendance last year. Thus, it is typical for players to take home only “between three thousand and seventy-five hundred dollars, total, during a roughly five-month championship season, with no overtime pay,” as Mary Pilon explained a few years back in The New Yorker. Some number of those players certainly receive a significant inducement to accept such an undesirable salary situation, though the vast majority achieve only minimal bonuses when they became professionals.

Minor League Baseball president Pat O’Conner says the law is about making sure players aren’t prevented from doing extra work to hone their skills and argues that “the formula of minimum wage and overtime is so incalculable.” As Jon Shepherd of Camden Depot explains, though, that’s not exactly an argument that decides the subject, not least because players could (as they surely do already) elect to train more or less based upon their own preferences, on their own time. His extensive post is well worth a full read for those interested in getting a sense of the overall costs involved, how they relate to team revenues, and whether there are some other potential solutions that would be both equitable and workable.

This week in baseball blogs…

• Fish Stripes looks at how much it could cost the Marlins to extend catcher J.T. Realmuto.
• A’s Farm talks to young Athletics building blocks Matt Olson, Bruce Maxwell and Chad Pinder.
• BP Toronto chats with Blue Jays reliever Tyler Clippard about some problems with his pitch mix last year and how he’s planning to fix it this season.
• The K Zone shares an offseason interview with young Phillies Rhys Hoskins and Scott Kingery.
• Camden Depot explains what will need to happen for the Orioles to win the AL East this season.
• MLB & Fantasy Baseball Analyzed lists the biggest winners and losers of the offseason.
• The Junkball Daily delves into the greatness of Joey Votto.
• Know Hitter regards Kyle Schwarber and Nelson Cruz as potential in-season trade chips.
• District On Deck compares the Nationals to other likely NL contenders.
• Pro Sports Fandom recaps Corey Seager’s second season.
• Call to the Pen (links: 1, 2) reacts to the Twins’ Lance Lynn signing and writes about the Phillies’ roster battles.
• Brew City Sports Report looks back at an active Brewers offseason.
• Pirates Breakdown previews Corey Dickerson’s season.
• Good Fundies asks if Mets catcher Kevin Plawecki is ready to break out.
• Chin Music Baseball ranks the game’s top 10 starting rotations.
• Rotisserie Duck names the worst trades of all-time.
• Jays Journal analyzes Toronto’s first base options beyond Justin Smoak.
• Tomahawk Take details why Braves have been a bit thrifty on their spending in recent years – and why 2019 will be different.
• Baseball Takes has high hopes for the Indians’ Yandy Diaz.
• The Sports Tank and Bronx To Bushville respond to the Yankees’ addition of Neil Walker.
• Sports Talk Philly projects the Phillies’ Opening Day lineup.
• The Loop Sports highlights several Cubs’ spring performances.
• The Daily Jay tries to figure out what Toronto has in Teoscar Hernandez.
• Rox Pile wonders wonders what the Rockies can do to take the NL West.
• The Point of Pittsburgh assembles the worst Pirates’ 25-man roster of the last 25 years.
• Mets Daddy contends that having to play at Citi Field may help keep David Wright out of the Hall of Fame.
• The Runner Sports (links: 1, 2, 3) examines Yankees prospect Miguel Andujar’s future, reflects on Kennys Vargas’ Twins tenure and touches on Astros prospect Myles Straw’s newfound bond with Jose Altuve.
• Jays From the Couch imagines if Toronto didn’t have Kendrys Morales on its roster.
• Orioles Hangout wonders if Trey Mancini will be a role player or a future star.
• Extra Innings UK runs down the week’s international baseball headlines, involving everything from Cal Ripken Jr. to visits with several minor league teams.
• Always The Jake (links: 1, 2, 3) profiles Indians prospects Francisco Mejia, Triston McKenzie and Bobby Bradley.
• Dodgers Way spotlights LA pitching prospect Imani Abdullah.
• Friars On Base is optimistic about the Padres’ stable of young arms.
• Motor City Bengals focuses on five Tigers prospects who could debut in 2018.
• STL Hat Trick names five underrated Cardinals prospects who are making progress.
• Notes from the Sally previews the Charleston Riverdogs, the Yankees’ Single-A South Atlantic League club.
• Everything Bluebirds is excited about the Blue Jays’ next wave of talent.
• Pinstriped Prospects offers the latest on Yankees spring training.
• The NatsGM Show (podcast) chats with Russell Carleton, author of the soon-to-be published book, “The Shift.”

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We’ve already covered the much-discussed rules changes at the MLB level relating to pace of play. That is certainly the most pertinent recent development in the rules arena, which has emerged as a point of no little controversy between the league and player’s union.

Today, though, the minor-league rule book received some changes of its own, as MLB.com’s Matt Kelly was among those to report, with some notable differences. While these regulations obviously won’t be seen in major-league games, they presumably could be considered for the game’s highest level in the future.

Mound visits will now be limited in the minors, much as is set to occur at the MLB level. The already-existing pitch clocks in the upper minors will be sped up. That, perhaps, is the next frontier for the majors, though the clock is not slated to be implemented there in 2018.

What has raised the most eyebrows, surely, is a rather notable change in extra innings. In a measure that’s sure both to shorten contests and engender consternation among purists, teams will start each inning with a baserunner on second from the tenth frame on. (The runner will be the player that occupies the spot in the order prior to the one that’s due to lead off the inning.) This procedure was utilized with less-than-enthusiastic reviews at the most recent World Baseball Classic.

Clearly, there’s more justification for utilizing this sort of procedure in the minors, where development is still the primary purpose. And it’s far from clear whether there’s any real inclination to pursue such a game-altering approach in the majors. Still, it’s quite a modification and one that’s sure to impact minor-league games across the country in the coming season.

NFL free agency doesn’t officially begin until Wednesday, but the league’s top free agents are already negotiating with teams and lining up new deals. Our sister site Pro Football Rumors has all the latest breaking news and rumors to keep you up to date.

Already, some of this year’s marquee free agents are primed to change teams. Prized quarterback Kirk Cousins is reportedly on the verge of an unprecedented fully guaranteed three-year contract with the Vikings, leaving the Jets and Cardinals to scramble for other options. Minnesota’s own standout quarterback, Case Keenum, has agreed to join the Broncos. The Bears, meanwhile, are adding this year’s top wide receiver in Allen Robinson, as well as No. 1 free agent tight end Trey Burton. Sammy Watkins, an accomplished receiver in his own right, is headed to the Chiefs.

And that’s not all. Tons of names on PFR’s list of 2018’s top 50 free agents remain on the market! To keeps tabs on all the latest NFL offseason news and rumors, be sure to visit Pro Football Rumors and follow along on Twitter @PFRumors.

While there are four seasons to go before a new collective bargaining agreement needs to be worked out, Thomas Boswell of the Washington Post says that’s sooner than it may seem. He discusses the matter with several players and provides another worthwhile perspective on a story that isn’t going away any time soon. Those interested in that topic will also want to check out recent articles from Roger Mooney of the Tampa Bay Times and Billy Witz of the New York Times on the MLBPA Spring Training camp, both of which feature chats with some notable players and union chief Tony Clark.

Here are some other pieces worth a look on topics of broader interest:

• The recent MLBPA grievance action may be about broader issues on some level, but in substance is tied to the use of revenue-sharing funds. As Baseball America’s J.J. Cooper explains, the spending of those dollars is increasingly cabined in light of changes to the CBA rules — including stricter definitions of permissible uses as well as the reduction of what can be doled out to amateur players.
• Elsewhere at BA, Cooper also discusses a new five-a-side baseball concept that has been proposed as a means of engaging youngsters in the sport. And while we’re still a ways off from the 2018 draft, it’s prime time for amateur players looking to firm up their standing. The Baseball America team has issued an updated version of its top-300 draft board.
• The increasing propensity of baseballs to leave the yard during MLB contests has certainly been documented in many quarters. And plenty of analysis has been dedicated to understanding why. Rob Arthur and Tim Dix of FiveThirtyEight helpfully round up some of the work on the topic and add to it by presenting the results of an x-ray analysis and core sample. You’ll need to read the post in its entirety, but the net of it is an identification of a reduced weight that, along with increased bounce off the bat and other changes, helps explain the surge in the long ball.
• Comings and goings between the majors and the Korea Baseball Organization are of greater and greater relevance. There’s also plenty of intrigue for players who are established and intend to stay in the KBO. Writing for Fangraphs, Sung Min Kim has an interesting look at the experiences of newly-knuckleballing southpaw Ryan Feierabend.

The 2018 NHL Trade Deadline is today at 2pm CT, and our sister site Pro Hockey Rumors will be busy bringing you breaking news and analysis. Make sure to jump into the conversation during their special live chat, or just follow along with all the trade talk throughout the day. Will Erik Karlsson actually be traded today? Do the New York Rangers continue their fire sale and send Ryan McDonagh to a contender? Is Evander Kane going to land a big package for the Buffalo Sabres?

Visit Pro Hockey Rumors and be sure to follow on Twitter @prohockeyrumors.

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