First baseman Giovanni “Gio” Brusa plays for the Guadalajara Mariachis in Zapopan, Mexico in 2021. The San Francisco Giants, the organization that drafted Brusa in 2016, cut him in 2020, and Brusa has sought an opportunity in independent baseball leagues since. Photo courtesy of Gio Brusa
Within the past two years, Major League Baseball has raised starting salaries for minor leaguers, restructured farm systems and enacted a housing policy for free accommodations — but many players still struggle to make ends meet.
While MLB delayed Opening Day of the big-league season in the midst of a three-month-long lockout, the minor league season will begin April 5, as planned.