Dodgers: David Price discusses generous donation to minor leaguers

Dodgers starter David Price talked about his generous donation to minor league players.

Recently-acquired Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher David Price provided a rare escape from the ongoing financial dispute that is keeping Major League Baseball from returning to the diamond.

After several MLB teams delayed or skipped action in paying their minor leaguers past the end of May, Price made a generous donation to pay each Dodgers minor league player $1,000 for the month of June.

Price was a guest on The Big Swing podcast with new teammate Ross Stripling and co-host Cooper Surles on Monday. He talked about the donation and said it never crossed his mind that he hadn’t really played in the Dodgers organization before reaching out to help so many of its players.

"“I just want to help take care of the next generation of baseball,” Price said. “I never even thought about the fact that I never played a game for the Dodgers, or any of that stuff. It never even crossed my mind.”"

The left-handed pitcher was acquired as part of the deal that brought superstar Mookie Betts to Los Angeles. He is slated to be the number three starter in the rotation behind Clayton Kershaw and Walker Buehler.

David Price had been planning his gift to Dodgers minor leaguers for several weeks.

Price told his agent 6-8 weeks ago that he wanted to do something after seeing how minor league players would be impacted by the ramifications of the pandemic. He was hoping to keep his donation a secret, but his goodwill impressed so many people, word got out to the public.

Major League Baseball agreed to pay minor leaguers $400 per week until the end of May. The Dodgers picked up the tab in June, but Price’s donation more than doubles what each minor leaguer is receiving.

Minor leaguer Zach Reks recently discussed the importance of Price’s gift as he juggles whether or not to search for an alternate job until baseball returns.

Dodgers: Predicting which free agents return in 2021

Several Dodgers may not return for the 2021 season.

While it still seems likely that a deal is eventually reached between the owners and players to resume play, it appears the best case scenario will see baseball return in late July or early August, with perhaps only 50 games on the schedule. MLB lost its window to return before other professional sports in the country.