Minor league baseball players will see huge pay hikes this year after agreeing to their first-ever collective bargaining agreement with Major League Baseball, multiple media outlets reported on Wednesday.

Working with the Major League Baseball Players Association after agreeing to unionize last year, the minor-leaguers must ratify the tentative agreement by Friday night in order for the new terms to be in place by the start of the season, according to The Athletic.

The collective-bargaining agreement, if finalized, would be in effect for five years.

The new minimum annual salaries at the minor league levels reportedly will jump from $17,500 to $35,800 in Triple-A, from $13,800 to $30,250 in Double-A, from $11,000 to $27,300 in high Class-A, from $11,000 to $26,200 in low Class-A and $4,800 to $19,800 in complex leagues.

Housing improvements for minor-leaguers also reportedly are built into the new pact.

Minor-leaguers previously sued MLB over below-minimum-wage salaries, and the sides reached a $185 million settlement last year. On Wednesday, U.S. Magistrate Judge Joseph C. Spero in San Francisco approved the settlement, which is expected to pay out $5,000-$5,500 per player.

–Field Level Media

Chicago White Sox All-Star closer Liam Hendriks is making progress in his battle with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma and will not be placed on the 60-day injured list, general manager Rick Hahn said Wednesday.

Hendriks, who turned 34 in February, announced his diagnosis in early January and has been undergoing treatment. Hahn said the team has received a promising update on Hendriks’ health.

“In recent days we’ve received positive news on Liam’s progress,” Hahn told reporters. “He remains in treatment. He still has some work ahead of him.

“However, he is making very good progress, and while we don’t currently have a specific timeline available to share with you on his potential return, those of you that pay close attention to our roster will notice that we have not placed him on the 60-day IL, and that is on purpose.”

Hahn said the White Sox may be able to offer a timeline for the right-hander’s eventual return around the end of April.

Hendriks recorded 75 saves over his first two seasons with the White Sox, making the All-Star team both years. His 38 saves in 2021 led the American League and he followed up with 37 last season.

Hendriks, a native of Australia, also was an All-Star in 2019 when he was a member of the Oakland Athletics.

In 471 career games (44 starts) for the Minnesota Twins (2011-13), Kansas City Royals (2014), Toronto Blue Jays (2014-15), Oakland Athletics (2016-20) and White Sox, Hendriks has a career 3.81 ERA with a 31-34 record and 115 saves. He has 724 strikeouts against 158 walks across 645 innings.

–Field Level Media

San Diego Padres third-base coach Matt Williams has been diagnosed with colon cancer and will be away from the team beginning Friday when he is scheduled to have surgery.

Williams, 57, is starting his second season with the Padres and will be on hand for the season opener Thursday against the visiting Colorado Rockies. There is no timetable for his return. Former St. Louis Cardinals manager Mike Shildt, now with San Diego as a senior advisor, will coach third base in Williams’ place.

Williams said Wednesday that the cancer was discovered during routine blood work earlier this spring. He continued his coaching duties before letting the organization know he was taking a leave of absence.

He said he wasn’t experiencing any symptoms or issues.

“It’s a strange thing, because I wouldn’t have known otherwise,” Williams said. “I feel as good as I’ve felt in 20 years, able to continue to still do my job and everything else.

“It’s just a question of: It’s there, and we have to go get it. So now we start that process.”

Williams said the initial scans were positive in that medical staff didn’t see the cancer spread anywhere else.

“He might be the toughest guy I’ve ever come across in baseball,” Padres manager Bob Melvin said of Williams, a former teammate with the San Francisco Giants. “We know, I know in particular, that he’s gonna give this the fiercest effort of his life, and he’s going to beat it. Our players have been fully supportive of him, but it’s hard, being so close to somebody and knowing that he has to deal with it. But I know he is, and I know he’s gonna beat it.”

Williams played 17 years in the big leagues from 1987-2003 as a member of the Giants, Cleveland Indians and Arizona Diamondbacks. He was a five-time All-Star and winner of four Gold Gloves and four Silver Sluggers as a third baseman.

He coached under Melvin with the Diamondbacks before taking the helm for two seasons with the Washington Nationals, winning National League Manager of the Year in 2014. He served as Melvin’s third-base coach with the Oakland Athletics in 2018-19 and rejoined Melvin last season in San Diego.

–Field Level Media

The Philadelphia Phillies acquired center fielder Cristian Pache from the Oakland A’s on Wednesday in exchange for minor league pitcher Billy Sullivan.

To make room for Pache on the 40-man roster, the Phillies placed star Rhys Hoskins on the 60-day injured list. Hoskins will undergo surgery Thursday for a torn ACL and is out for the season.

Pache, 24, hit .166 with three home runs and 18 RBIs in 91 games for the A’s in 2022. But it’s his defense the Phillies want.

Pache tied for fifth among American League center fielders with five defensive runs saved in 2022, per the Phillies’ press release. He posted a .995 fielding percentage.

Sullivan, 23, went 5-1 with a 4.59 ERA in 44 games (two starts) for Double-A Reading last year. The 6-foot-2 right-hander was drafted in the 17th round by the Phils in 2017.

–Field Level Media

Top Los Angeles Angels prospect Logan O’Hoppe will be the catcher on Opening Day at Oakland on Thursday with Max Stassi headed to the injured list with hip soreness, manager Phil Nevin said.

O’Hoppe, acquired in last year’s trade that sent outfielder Brandon Marsh to the Philadelphia Phillies, made his MLB debut late last season and played in five games for the Angels.

Los Angeles has a trio of catching options in O’Hoppe, Stassi and Matt Thaiss, who also will be named to the Opening Day roster, according to Nevin.

“Yeah, it’s super humbling,” O’Hoppe said about being in a lineup with Mike Trout and Shohei Ohtani. “I’d be lying If I didn’t say I looked at it and thought, ‘What the hell am I doing there?’ But I’m settling in now and I feel more comfortable and really happy to get going.”

O’Hoppe batted .281 in 12 games this spring with a .799 OPS after he batted .306 with a 1.147 OPS in 29 games with the Angels’ Double-A affiliate Rocket City last season.

Stassi had been away from the team for personal reasons toward the end of spring training and sustained his injury during a minor league game at Arizona on Sunday.

O’Hoppe, 23, will catch Ohtani in Tuesday’s opener against the A’s.

“He worked his tail off all winter to be in this position and he’s earned it,” Nevin said of O’Hoppe, who is the No. 42 overall prospect at Baseball America and No. 53 at mlb.com. “A guy like Ohtani is saying this guy can really catch and I don’t mind throwing to him.”

Nevin also revealed that left-hander Tucker Davidson will make the roster. He was in a battle for the No. 6 starting spot with right-hander Griffin Canning, who is experiencing groin discomfort.

–Field Level Media

The Tampa Bay Rays are placing three right-handed pitchers on the injured list ahead of Thursday’s season opener.

Setup man Shawn Armstrong is dealing with neck issues, while Shane Baz is recovering from Tommy John surgery and fellow starter Tyler Glasnow is sidelined with an injured left oblique.

Armstrong is expected to be out two weeks and Glasnow could miss the season’s first month. Baz will likely sacrifice the entire season after September surgery to repair his right elbow.

Armstrong, 32, went 2-3 with a 3.60 ERA and two saves in 43 appearances (three starts) with the Rays last season.

Baz, 23, was 1-2 with a 5.00 ERA in six starts for Tampa Bay in 2022, strikeout out 30 batters in 27 innings.

Glasnow, 29, posted a 1.35 ERA in two starts after missing most of last season following Tommy John surgery.

–Field Level Media