A lawyer for Major League Baseball said in federal court on Friday that minor league players should not be paid during spring training, according to a report from Evan Drellich of The Athletic.
The lawyer said that minor leaguers should not be paid because they should be considered trainees.
The talking point was part of a larger argument for MLB as the league tried to get an eight-year-old lawsuit regarding minor league compensation thrown out. MLB is a defendant in a class-action lawsuit that is set to begin trial on June 1.
“It is the players that obtain the greater benefit from the training opportunities that they are afforded than the clubs, who actually just incur the cost of having that training,” argued Elise Bloom, the legal representative assisting Major League Baseball.