When the Chicago White Sox released catcher Omar Narváez in May 2025, he packed a bag and headed to Mexico with plans to extend his career. Two weeks later, Narváez signed a minor-league deal with the Houston Astros, and his trip south of the border turned into a vacation, not a line on his Baseball Reference page.Narváez received no interest stateside this offseason, so he signed with the Sultanes de Monterrey in mid-March. He is neither the most talented player in the Mexican League nor the most recognizable. There are guys here who won the World Series, like Justin Turner, and those with very recent major-league success, like Wilmer Flores, who hit three homers in a game for the San Francisco Giants just last year. You’d be hard-pressed to watch any Mexican League (LMB) game this season and not see multiple players with recent ties to Major League Baseball.The influx of ex-big leaguers in Mexico is due to a confluence of factors, some of which came about with changes MLB made to its minor leagues ahead of the 2021 season, when 40 teams were contracted and rosters were capped. More than ever, organizations prioritize youth in their developmental pipelines, squeezing out veterans that used to populate Triple A and provide depth to major-league clubs.In the Oscar-winning “Bull Durham,” Crash Davis is a 12-year minor-league catcher kept on at the end of his career solely to mentor a pitching prospect. The movie’s premise was a little far-fetched when it was made in 1988, but in today’s game it’s laughable. Every roster spot on every team is a precious commodity.Narváez knows that. Still, he is 34 years old, a former All-Star who says he would enjoy sharing the experiences gleaned from five different organizations with young prospects who harbor major-league dreams.“I would love to be in Triple A somewhere right now,” said Narváez, whose younger cousin, Carlos, is a catcher for the Boston Red Sox. “I feel like I could help a team, but they don’t want guys like me anymore.”Triple A’s transformation comes as minor league baseball, still grappling with the ripple effects of massive changes introduced five years ago, seems destined for even more wholesale change. Now in the third season since domestic rosters were slashed to an all-time low, lower-level teams are sometimes left scrambling to field enough players, while the upper levels deal with the myriad issues derived from employing a younger workforce, including a noticeable drop-off in quality of play.“There’s an argument to be made that the integrity of the game loses out by not being able to facilitate guys on the back end of their careers,” said one AL scouting director who, like others quoted in this article, was granted anonymity because he was not authorized by his club to speak about the state of the minors, “But on the flip side, more guys get the chance in Triple A sooner, and maybe that’s productive.“I do think it’s a product of the system, and it’s not going to change.”Change, however, seems to be the only constant lately in the minors.For decades, minor-league baseball teemed with players on fairly predictable paths. Low-A and High-A teams (as well as rookie and short-season teams) were made up of college and high school-aged players transitioning to professional ball after being drafted or signing as international free agents. Double A was where many of the game’s top prospects transformed into future stars, while Triple A was populated by players with fringe major-league talent and veterans who shuttled back and forth according to the big-league club’s needs.Before the 2020 season, MLB proposed a radical change to the minors: cutting 40 teams at least in part as a response to growing discontent — and potential legal disputes — over players’ below-minimum-wage pay and subpar housing. Streamlining operations to 120 teams across four levels and changing schedules to six-game series reduced travel, cut costs and made it more palatable for owners to provide better working conditions. Those changes went into effect ahead of the 2021 season.In 2022, minor-league players unionized and subsequently ratified their first-ever collective bargaining agreement, which included historic pay increases and guaranteed offseason housing stipends and health and retirement benefits. To get that, players agreed to the owners’ request to cap clubs’ domestic minor-league systems at 180 players in 2023 and 165 players in 2024 and beyond. In Double A and Triple A, where players make more money, active rosters are capped at 28. In Low A and High A, they’re capped at 30.Those roster restrictions have caused distinct challenges in leagues where development, not winning, is prioritized and where prospects are often kept on strict workload schedules. It’s common for big-league teams to ask their Triple-A affiliates to hold two or three pitchers out of a game in case the MLB club needs reinforcements. Or for a Triple-A pitcher to be held to 40 or 50 pitches to remain a potential option for a team unsure if a big-league starter will make his next turn. Some teams are more likely to sit players with minor injuries rather than put them on the injured list, and those players count toward the roster limit unless they’re placed on the 60-day IL.As a result, many executives feel like it’s impossible to build roster depth. One AL player development exec described the nightly struggle to piece together a Triple-A pitching plan as “constantly playing with our backs against the wall.” A former manager said that at least twice a week he’d start a Triple-A game with no clue how to get through it.“Did we have too many players before? Probably,” said one American League executive. “Maybe we’ve overcorrected now.”In complex leagues — rookie-level leagues held at team training complexes in Arizona or Florida — teams often don’t have enough pitching, which leads to pregame haggling over whether games are played to nine or seven innings. Certain organizations, like the Baltimore Orioles, are notorious for never having enough arms, which can lead to grumbling from teams that do, like the Tampa Bay Rays. As one executive put it, teams have to pick their roster battles and try to stay covered at the higher affiliates. As a result, “the bottom often falls out,” he said.Three executives said the elimination of short-season A-ball teams has forced organizations to put players in full-season leagues who aren’t ready for it. According to Baseball Reference, the average age for Low-A hitters fell below 21 years old last year — a new low — and as of June 2026, it has stayed there. Walks are up, so are runs allowed.“There’s been a slow removal of spots, and I think we are feeling it now more than ever,” said a National League player development executive. “The quality of High A is what Low-A ball used to be, and it goes up the chain.”Some players also get promoted based on factors that don’t involve development or production. Many teams start their top college draftees in Double A now because the average age of a hitter there is 23, and they don’t want to discourage prospects by starting them lower than their peers. Narváez started his pro career as a 16-year-old international signing with the Rays and said they were the only organization where he saw players earn their promotions.“Some teams will promote based on future value,” explained a veteran scout, “‘Oh, he’s young for the league,’ so that increases a guy’s value in prospect rankings or a potential trade.”Very few teams have the space to take fliers on players released by other organizations and instead feel rushed to make decisions to ensure they aren’t cutting into playing time for top prospects. “The reduction in evaluation time it creates puts organizations in a bind,” said one AL executive. “We are constantly having to make decisions quicker than we want.”Players who don’t perform right away are often left out. Triple-A teams used to be stocked with “4-A” players, guys who excelled in the minors but struggled to make the leap to the big-league level. With fewer teams, fewer roster spots and more competition for playing time, there’s been an uptick in players leaving the U.S. to extend their careers, from Mexico to the Korean Baseball Organization to Nippon Professional Baseball in Japan.Mexico represents an easier potential path back to affiliated baseball than Independent ball, whose organizations require MLB teams to pay an initial fee to sign a player and an additional one if that player reaches the big leagues. Mexico currently has no fees, though many in the industry believe that will soon change. At least two MLB organizations have been recently told no when trying to acquire a veteran player from the LBM.As Triple A gets younger, the quality of raw talent has surged, while the focus on fundamentals has been de-emphasized in many organizations’ predictive models. The primary goal of the minor leagues has never been winning, but without a certain level of competition, many people believe the gap between the highest affiliate and the big leagues has become a chasm.“You don’t have as many learning moments in Triple A because those guys who have six, seven, eight years (of MLB experience) fighting to get back are not there,” said Orioles slugger Pete Alonso. “You want to have the best talent playing against each other at all times, but there is the level of gamesmanship in a level of higher play. I feel like that is missing for sure, and that’s just the system.“Now guys have to learn at the highest level, which is really, really damn hard.”After being promoted to Triple A in May, a well-regarded Double-A prospect was prepared to face a significant jump in the level of play. Instead, he saw four position players pitch in a span of three weeks, including two on his own team. According to MiLB.com’s stats page, 51 different Triple-A position players have taken the mound through Monday, a record-breaking pace. Iowa (Cubs) catcher Casey Opitz has already pitched six times. Scranton/Wilkes-Barre (Yankees) catcher Edinson Duran and Norfolk (Rays) third baseman Willy Vasquez have pitched five times apiece. Omaha (Royals) first baseman Abraham Toro and Gwinnett (Braves) infielder Luke Williams are among position players with three or more pitching appearances before the All-Star break.“That’s basically like High A,” one big-league reliever told teammates upon returning from a rehab stint in Triple A. Another veteran MLB starter said he was shocked to see how many pitchers were pulled mid-inning due to workload constraints. “I’ve played in extended spring (games) with a more competitive feel.”Milwaukee Brewers infield prospect Jesús Made, 19, is years younger than many of his peers in Double A this season. (William Glasheen / USA Today Network via Imagn Images)As the sport skews younger, the churn through young players has never been higher. Astros right fielder Cam Smith made his debut on Opening Day 2025 after being drafted with the 14th pick in 2024. Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Trey Yesavage, the No. 20 pick in the same 2024 draft, was a pivotal part of the Jays’ World Series run the following year. Athletics first baseman Nick Kurtz, the fourth overall selection in 2024, won AL Rookie of the Year.“The quality of play (in Triple A) is bad, and they are pushing guys through quicker, but what’s the alternative?” asked former MLB reliever Richard Bleier. “To sign guys who were never good enough to play in the big leagues and have them clog up a roster? Or take up a spot with someone whose career is at the tail end?”Bleier spent nine seasons in the minors, including six straight at Double A, before he made his big-league debut for the Yankees at 29 years old. If he played now, he knows most organizations wouldn’t have waited on him.“I probably would have been released,” said Bleier, who played for eight big-league seasons. “The way it’s set up now, there are guys who are going to miss opportunities. How many guys are one pitch or swing adjustment away from drastic outcomes that never have the time to find it? Organizations don’t care. If they hit enough on their prospects, that’s all they care about.”In June, Major League Baseball proposed sweeping changes to the existing amateur draft — reducing the number of rounds from 20 to 12, eliminating eligibility for high school players and slashing the amount of money paid out to rookies by hundreds of millions of dollars — along with the establishment of an international draft. The MLB Players Association immediately denounced the proposal, which has little chance of being implemented in a new CBA. It does, though, provide insight into MLB owners’ priorities.The league said in the proposal it would not cut additional minor-league teams, which isn’t a possibility right now anyway since current contracts between major-league teams and their affiliates run through the 2030 season. Still, there is fear that the minors will continue to shrink. More than a half-dozen people interviewed for this story think Low-A teams will be the next to go. After all, early minor-league CBA proposals by the owners included slashing domestic roster limits to 150 and giving them the right to set further limits as they saw fit. The writing is on the wall.“Why pay for development when you can have colleges do it for free?” said one NL exec. “Just like the NFL.”Why the union should reject MLB's latest offerKeith LawWhile the idea might be cost-effective for owners, the reality doesn’t bear out. In a statement about its proposal to shrink the draft, MLB referred to colleges as “an elite development environment,” but it’s an apples-to-oranges comparison to football, where colleges play 12 regular-season games and the NFL plays 17. Division I baseball programs typically play a 56-game regular season that tops out at 70-75 games with a deep playoff run. Even in the best-case scenario, that’s less than half of MLB’s 162-game regular season and significantly less than the 138-game schedule at Double A. Multiple people interviewed for this story pointed out that one of the biggest adjustments to pro ball is its duration, which can take years for players to adapt to both physically and mentally.The roster depth at the college level isn’t close to the big leagues either, with some executives calling it thinner than the upper levels of the minor leagues. There are some programs with a few guys who throw in the upper 90s, but the drop-off after that, multiple execs noted, is fairly stark.“College coaches get paid to win, and player turnover in the NIL era is as high as it’s ever been,” said the AL executive. “They don’t have time for developing. They’re going to put in a 23-year-old transfer who can help them win that night.”A talented pitcher at a big program with great stuff who can’t throw strikes probably isn’t going to pitch much in college. A year in a pro system would afford him consistent minor-league innings to work on mechanical tweaks and potentially make significant strides.“I know no other sport has this complex developmental system, but we are not good enough as evaluators to really get this right all the time,” said the AL general manager, “and there are guys who need extra levels and extra time, and when you start eliminating them, you miss out.”Baseball’s popularity is surging at a time when the sport’s labor issues are particularly acrimonious. In addition to the draft changes, owners have already proposed a big-league salary cap and floor, both of which the MLB players’ union vehemently opposes. A long work stoppage seems almost inevitable.But for all the talk about the looming CBA negotiations, the minor-league negotiations after next season could also have considerable ramifications for the game. Executives from multiple teams in big and small markets fear that the leveling of the minor leagues has taken away an important aspect of the game: creativity.In an ongoing effort to promote competitive balance, MLB announced this winter it would require all minor-league parks to employ the same in-game technology in 2026. The league said it was important to “provide a level playing field on access to information” and invited teams to analyze the data however they wanted. Critics said it curbed innovation.Why, one veteran executive opined, aren’t teams allowed to determine how much of an investment to put into their minor-league rosters and how much to spend on in-stadium technology? The league doesn’t police how many analysts or special assistants are employed in a big-league front office; why would they care about how many players are on a Triple-A roster?There is consensus that the domestic roster limit will trend one way: smaller. The ability to rearrange within those limits is something some organizations would be amenable to. “An expanded roster for Triple A, even if you have to designate them for the day, would help,” said an AL exec. “Just some wiggle room and understanding of the churn that’s going on up above.”Added an NL player development executive: “You eliminated some levels, which saves operating expenses that teams had to cover, but don’t double down and do roster caps. Let us carry 40 if we want. Let someone else carry 25. Push the power back to the states and let every team behave differently. That could also improve the quality of play.”Given the state of CBA negotiations, no potential change is off the table. As owners continue to try to outsource player development, there is legitimate concern about the future of the game.“If you want to play a sh—- brand of baseball, that’s fine,” said one NL exec. “I’m not complaining about throwing velocity or exit velocity or whether guys need to learn how to run the bases. That’s all subjective.“What isn’t, in my opinion, is to continue to lower the resources and opportunities and say it’s for the good of the game. This has always been money-driven, not player-driven. And that’s where I’m concerned.”