<p>The Houston Astros are providing furnished apartments to minor league players at all levels for the 2022 season, believed to be the first big league club to do so.</p>
<p>Players with the Triple-A Sugar Land Skeeters, Double-A Corpus Christi Hooks, High-A Fayetteville Woodpeckers, Low-A Asheville Tourists and the franchise’s Gulf Coast League team were offered housing ahead of last week’s opening day, the Astros said Wednesday, confirming a report by The Athletic.</p>
<p>Housing has been among the greatest difficulties facing minor league players, many of whom will make as little as $10,000 this season despite pay raises introduced for 2021. </p>
<p>Players are unable to use host families this season due to COVID-19 restrictions, and even in past years, they have routinely lived in overcrowded apartments, slept on air mattresses, or in the case of one thrifty minor leaguer, <a href="https://apnews.com/article/ecfdbf63feed4df0ac05608e7b42c285">converted a school bus</a> into a mobile home. </p>
<p>Shuttling between levels is especially tricky, with players needing to find housing for undetermined amounts of time with only a day or two of notice. </p>
<p>The San Francisco Giants said in February of 2020 that they would begin providing allowances to cover housing, but players remain frustrated by the lack of support from teams. </p>
<p>MLB mandated pay raises for minor leaguers beginning this season that brought minimum weekly pay at Class A from $290 to $500. Double-A jumped from $350 to $600, and Triple-A from $502 to $700. Players are only compensated during the five-month regular season.</p>
<hr />
<p>More AP MLB: <a href="https://apnews.com/hub/MLB">https://apnews.com/hub/MLB</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/AP_Sports">https://twitter.com/AP_Sports</a> </p>
