(670 The Score) As MLB has required teams to provide housing for their minor league players, the White Sox are considered to be "at the bottom of the league" in that initiative, an advocate for players told the Athletic.
Harry Marino works for Advocates for Minor Leaguers, a non-profit with the goal of improving conditions for minor league players. Marino indicated to the Athletic that early on in the process, the White Sox have struggled to produce adequate living space for many of their minor leaguers, while the players themselves – who spoke on the condition of anonymity – complained of sharing rooms with teammates and being housed without cars away from ballparks that aren't within walking distance.
The White Sox have committed $1 million to develop a housing program for minor league players, the team told the Athletic, but some prospects believe the organization is simply aiming to meet the minimum requirements, according to the report.
The White Sox have required unmarried players at Double-A Birmingham and levels below that to share rooms with teammates. Roughly half of MLB teams are giving players their own bedrooms, Marino told the Athletic. A few White Sox minor league players have gotten married during the season to avoid having shared rooms, according to the report.
The White Sox hope to provide "a first-class experience" for minor league players, assistant general manager Chris Getz told the Athletic, but there have been "some hiccups" such as construction delays and a building fire at Class-A Kannapolis, which has forced players to live in an extended-stay hotel away from the ballpark. Those arrangements have forced players to fill teammates' cars for rides and left them without proper food and supplies at their hotel.
Class-A Kannapolis has since moved players to a better quality hotel and is in the process of finalizing townhome apartments for players to move into, according to the report.
The minimum weekly salary for minor league players ranges from $400 at the lowest levels to $700 at Triple-A, according to the report.
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