Royals sign Twins castoff Jose Mijares for $925,000

By Aaron GleemanDec 21, 2011, 4:50 PM EST
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Non-tendered by the Twins last week, Jose Mijares has quickly found a new home in the AL Central.

Bob Dutton of the Kansas City Star reports that the 27-year-old reliever has agreed to a one-year deal with the Royals, who plan to use him as a left-handed specialist.

Mijares had a terrible 2011 season, walking 30 batters in 49 innings, but was very effective in the previous three years and has a 3.16 ERA in 154 career innings.

Minnesota soured on Mijares to the point that they cut him loose rather than pay what would’ve been a modest $750,000 or so salary via arbitration, but it’s not surprising that he almost immediately landed another big-league contract.

UPDATE: Mijares’ deal is worth $925,000, so he actually ended up with a raise.

Oakland Athletics reverse course, will continue to pay minor leaguers

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By Craig CalcaterraJun 5, 2020, 7:11 PM EDT
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Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reports that Oakland Athletics owner John Fisher has reversed course and will continue to pay minor leaguers. Fisher tells Slusser, “I concluded I made a mistake.” He said he is also setting up an assistance fund for furloughed employees.

The A’s decided in late May to stop paying paying minor leaguers as of June 1, which was the earliest date on which any club could do so after an MLB-wide agreement to pay minor leaguers through May 31 expired. In the event, the A’s were the only team to stop paying the $400/week stipends to players before the end of June. Some teams, notable the Royals and Twins, promised to keep the payments up through August 31, which is when the minor league season would’ve ended. The Washington Nationals decided to lop off $100 of the stipends last week but, after a day’s worth of blowback from the media and fans, reversed course themselves.