They are playing for a shot at the major leagues, but minor league baseball players could soon be making less than minimum wage. As explained by our Washington Bureau reporter Margaret Chadbourn, the reason is squeezed inside last week's massive budget bill.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - The Boys of Summer are now playing by a different set of rules in the minor leagues, at least when it comes to wages.

Inside the $1.3 trillion, 2,200 page spending bill that President Trump signed into law last week, is a measure concerning pay for farm team players working to reach the major leagues.

Under the new law, minor league players are exempt from federal labor laws and could earn less going forward, possibly below the minimum wage, or as little as $1,100 a month. While players who make the majors are paid handsomely, many minor league players are scraping by each season.

“Over the years Congress has definitely gotten involved in all sorts of labor issues, but also sports labor issues, too," said Dave Levinthal of the Center for Public Integrity. “By virtue of that, you can expect that Congress, whether it’s an issue dealing with labor or whether it’s a mixed bag of other issues, it’s going to involve itself in sporting.”

But why would Congress care what these players make? Levinthal says it part of a lobbying effort taken on by Major League Baseball, and, after all, professional sports is a multi-billion dollar business.

“Congress is very interested in sports," he said. “It’s not the least bit uncommon for sports leagues to hire representation in Washington.”

Major League Baseball owners mounted the lobbying campaign to counter lawsuits from minor league players who argue they have been illegally underpaid. The league contends playing under federal pay rules would result in higher bills for minor league teams, arguing at times that farm team players are essentially seasonal workers, making it harder to operate.

Major League Baseball spent about two years lobbying Congress, spending $1.3 million in 2016 and 2017, according to OpenSecrets.org.

“That’s a pretty sizable amount of money, but at the same time too, it’s just a drop in the bucket," said Levinthal.

In the end, a single section of the massive bill was devoted to hammering out the labor dispute.