Former Vanderbilt Commodore and current Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher David Price will provide each of the Dodgers’ minor league players with $1,000 amid COVID-19 cutbacks decimating the minor leagues. The news was first reported by baseball writer Francys Romero and has since been confirmed by ESPN.
According to the Los Angeles Times, the Dodgers on Thursday committed to pay their minor league players $400 weekly stipends through the month of June; the previous league-wide decision only mandated these payments through May 31. Price, 34, elected to provide additional assistance to the minor league players within the Dodgers organization.
Romero reported that Price would pay $1,000 to each individual minor league player in the month of June, adding roughly two-and-a-half week’s worth of standard pay to the players’ totals.
As Romero pointed out, the gesture is especially considerate given that Price is a new arrival to Los Angeles; the 2012 Cy Young Award winner has yet to play for the Dodgers after being traded to the team from the Boston Red Sox in February.
The coronavirus outbreak has forced many sporting entities to a screeching halt of late, and Major League Baseball is no exception. Minor leaguers have been hard-hit by the sport’s precarious standing during the pandemic. ESPN reported that hundreds of players have been laid off—with more expected to follow—and many teams are discontinuing the $400 weekly stipends minor leaguers earn during this time of the year.
Price attended Vanderbilt on an academic scholarship in 2004, despite being drafted by the Dodgers in the 19th round of that year’s draft. His junior season will live on in college baseball history, as Price’s 11-1 season saw him post a 2.63 ERA, set a school record with 194 strikeouts and win the Golden Spikes Award, Brooks Wallace Award and Dick Howser Trophy.
Price was selected by the Tampa Bay Rays with the first overall pick in the 2007 MLB Draft and has since spent time with the Detroit Tigers and Boston Red Sox. Prior to being dealt to Los Angeles, Price won a World Series with the Red Sox in 2018.
