Red Sox to pay minor league players $400 a week through August

Nick Lovullo (shown in his Holy Cross days) made it as high as Triple A last season and is the son of Diamondbacks manager (and former Red Sox coach) Torey Lovullo.The Boston Globe/Boston Globe

The Red Sox will pay all of their minor league players $400 a week for the duration of what would have been their season, according to major league sources.

Major League Baseball previously had committed to supporting all minor leaguers through the end of May, but left it to teams to extend payments beyond that date.

All minor leaguers in the Red Sox system who aren’t covered by a major league contract — meaning those who aren’t on the 40-man roster — will receive the $400 weekly stipend.

Most teams have committed to do the same, with the exception of the Oakland A’s.

Earlier this week, A’s owner John Fisher said the team would not pay their minor leaguers beyond theinitial May agreement. Fisher also said scouts and other front office personnel will be furloughed next week (amateur scouts will stay on regular pay through June 10-11 draft).

The Red Sox announced Friday night that will not lay off or furlough any of their full-time staff members. In April, the Sox agreed to pay their full-time employees through May.

The Red Sox minor leaguers receiving their full stipend comes on the heels of an announcement by the Red Sox on Friday in which they released 22 minor leaguers.

As of Thursday, at least 11 teams reportedly had released minor league players. ESPN has reported that up to 1,000 minor leaguers might lose their jobs.

The cuts by the Red Sox don’t appear to be related to the pandemic. None were legitimate prospects.

According to Baseball America’s JJ Cooper, the Sox’ cuts are in line with their totals from the two previous seasons. In 2018, the Sox released 22 minor leaguer in March-May. In 2019, they cut 15 players in that same span.

The pandemic still will have an impact on employment. Many former minor leaguers often turn to independent leagues, attempting to make it back to the minors. But those seasons likely won’t happen.

The players released by the Red Sox were infielders Nick Lovullo, Juremi Profar, Korby Batesole, Andre Colon, and Nilo Rijo; outfielders Edgar Corcino, Keith Curcio, Trenton Kemp, and Marino Campana; catchers Joe DeCarlo, Samuel Miranda, and Breiner Licona; and pitchers Matthew Gorst, Alex Demchak, Dylan Thompson, Robbie Baker, Chris Machamer, Connor Berry, Eddie Jimenez, Kelvin Sanchez, Zach Schneider, and Mason Duke.