Blue Jays extend Minors pay through June

TORONTO -- All Minor League players in the Blue Jays organization will "continue to receive their current allowance and benefits" through the end of June, the club announced Saturday.

This provides a level of certainty for the Blue Jays' Minor Leaguers over the coming month, and a decision regarding July and August will follow at a later date. The Blue Jays join a large group of clubs across the league who have extended their commitments.

The status of the 2020 Minor League season has not yet been determined, though that should become clearer through the ongoing negotiations between Major League Baseball and the MLB Players Association regarding a potential return to play.

Nearly all of the Blue Jays' Minor League players have returned home during the global coronavirus pandemic, which cut Spring Training short in March and has put the season on hold. A group of the club's young Venezuelan players were unable to return home and have stayed in Florida, where the Blue Jays are working to keep those young players comfortable and engaged both physically and mentally.

“There’s been a hierarchy to every single thing we’ve gone through,” said club president and CEO Mark Shapiro soon after baseball was suspended in March. “Which is first at the human level, doing everything we can to keep our staff and our fans safe, healthy and largely complying and trying to assist with broader community and societal challenges.”