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The Boston Red Sox Thursday, March 19, 2020 * The Boston Globe Due to coronavirus outbreak, baseball’s minor leaguers are caught in a no-man’s land Alex Speier Red Sox minor leaguers worked out and played intrasquad games at the JetBlue Park complex in Fort Myers, Fla., last Friday and left the premises expecting to return for more of the same the next day. But shortly after the players scattered, the team sent out a jarring communiqué: Effective immediately, minor league camp was over. The Red Sox wanted players to collect their belongings from the park and encouraged them to head home. Upon receiving the message, outfielder Tyler Dearden, who spent last year with Single A Greenville, took to Twitter with grim humor. Sooo anybody hiring?? Sincerely, All minor league baseball players right now. “I had no idea what to expect and was kind of trying to make light of the situation,” Dearden said by phone. “But I’m pretty sure that’s a thought that ran through all minor leaguers’ heads when they found out.” Dearden’s tweet inspired dozens of comments, hundreds of retweets, and thousands of likes — many from fellow minor leaguers suddenly wondering about their employment and financial security since the COVID-19 virus led to the shutdown of minor league camps and the chaotic dispersal of players, including the roughly 180 who’d been in Red Sox minor league camp. This past offseason, Dearden lived at home in New Jersey with his parents, offered baseball lessons, and ran food deliveries for DoorDash to help him bridge from his last paycheck at the end of the minor league season to the start of spring training, while also creating a bit of extra money for the coming season.
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