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Originally Posted by NobodyHere
Does this lockout affect minor league baseball?
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Only players on MLB 40-man rosters are 'locked out,' so it does affect minor league baseball in that prospects that are closer to the majors and some well-established depth players that would typically be playing at AAA and some at AA will be unavailable until it is resolved. That is probably 12-15 players (given 26-man rosters and typically a handful of guys or more are on the DL at all times), per franchise, that will not be available and some of those younger guys will certainly miss out on development time as a result.
It is sort of unclear how the rosters will shake out as to whether AA players will just fill in at AAA (and high-A players up to AA) until they return or if teams will sign more marginal, experienced players to fill in, so as to keep players at appropriate levels for development. I'd guess we will see a mixture of both, depending on the different franchises' philosophies.