David Iverson

According to http://www.sportslawblogger.com/baseball/salary-information/minor-league-salary/, minor league salaries for the first year in each league are (not sure when this was written though: $1150/mo for short season leagues$1300/mo for low A$1500/mo for high A$1700/mo for AA$2150/mo for AAAThe salary is a bit higher per month for your 2nd, 3rd, etc. years in a league, and the players get $25/day on the road for meal money. Once players are on the 40 man it's a bit better, with 2015 salaries of $41,400 for the 1st year on the 40 man, and $82,700 for the 2nd year. I have to say, in my opinion it is terrible how little your average minor leaguer gets paid, and its only the folks drafted in the top few rounds that get huge bonuses. I think your average 25th rounder only gets a few thousand for a signing bonus, and then heads off to a short season league where $1150/mo for 3 months is a whopping $3450.

Back when Drew Butera pitched an inning for the Twins back in 2012 and hit 95 mph, I remember thinking that he really should go back to the minors and be a pitcher. He was 28 at the time and Shafer is 29.

Others have already made the point I’m about to make, but I’m going to say it again anyway using different words. Comparing the two players themselves is silly, but it is absolutely not silly to compare the two when it comes to the processes used by the Twins to scout and sign players from Asian leagues. Yes, the NPB and KBO leagues are completely different leagues, but when it comes to scouting and signing players from those leagues, the process looks pretty similar from my vantage point. The last time we saw the Twins go through this process to completion it was an abject failure, so not only is it not silly, it is prudent and important to ask whether the Twins have changed how they scout and sign players from Asian leagues between signing Nishioka and Park.