Minnesota Twins pitching prospect Mitch Horacek summed up the concerns of minor league players succinctly when he said he has not been paid since August, and he is counting on his paycheck on April 15. That is leading some players to find other revenue sources immediately.

Oakland Athletics pitching prospect Peter Bayer has began doing deliveries for Door Dash partially because he has no idea when he is going to be paid. That is highly problematic for a number of reasons.

First and foremost, with the coronavirus pandemic, we are supposed to be in a period of social isolation.

However, that doesn’t work if minor league players aren’t getting paid, and they have to opt for delivering food. For a moment, just think of all the people Bayer came into contact when he made food deliveries for three hours. His risk of exposure rose exponentially, and if he was exposed, he will have exposed each and every baseball player, minor and major leaguer, in the Oakland Athletics organization.

Right there, we see paying minor leaugers and making sure they receive the care and assistance they need isn’t just about Major League Baseball doing the right thing, it is about protecting their entire organization.

Think about it. Lets say Bayer gets infected. He’s now going to be in a position to spread it throughout the team and organization. Remember, not every player is going home, and it’s possible minor leaguers can’t get home. That is the type of thing which could shut down even the light workouts the Athletics might have otherwise been able to hold to prepare for the season.

If the Athletics organization as a whole is infected, then what? What is Major League Baseball going to do? Are they remotely prepared to handle that level of crisis? Would they even know what to do with the team and the season? The answer is very likely no.

Of course, MLB should realize they should be paying players a stipend to get them through these difficult times, but according to reports, it doesn’t seem like they are. Based upon history, even if players on the 40 man roster get it, minor leaguers won’t.

Look, we know Major League Baseball has not done right by minor leaguers. They have tried to classify them as seasonal apprentices in an effort to not pay them living wages. However, right now, those policies may be the very thing which could turn a temporary shut down into a major crisis with a fall out well beyond anything baseball ever could have contemplated.

Baseball can no longer afford to not pay minor leaguers. No, they need to get them paid right now, so those players can stay socially isolated and in effect a team instituted quarantine. They also need to start taking measures to not just get the Major Leaguers, but also the minor leaguers tested.

Overall, if we ever saw a reason why Major League Baseball’s policy of not paying minor leaugers is inhumane and dangerous to the sport, we are seeing it right now. Major League Baseball needs to wake up right now, and they need to start paying minor leaugers.

It is no longer a matter of it just being the right thing to do. Now, it is about protecting players and the very people who make such callous decisions.