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Stepping up improvements for minor leaguers after widespread criticism, Major League Baseball will now provide most of those players with their own beds in team housing beginning next season. 

MLB's new housing policy will require teams to provide furnished accommodations, with a single bed per player and no more than two players per bedroom. The housing must be 'located at a reasonable, commutable distance from the ballpark,' the commissioner's office said Thursday. Teams will be responsible for basic utility bills.

'To the extent that apartments, rental homes or host families are not feasible,' MLB said, 'clubs may choose to provide hotel rooms that satisfy standards put in place.' 

MLB estimated the policy will apply to 90 percent of minor leaguers, including those assigned to extended spring training and the Arizona Complex League. 

It will not apply to players with minor league contracts earning $100,000 or more or to players with major league contracts who are on optional or outright assignment to the minor leagues. 

Players retain the right to opt out of team-provided housing. 

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Infielder Stone Garrett #11 of the Amarillo Sod Poodles catches a throw during the game against the Frisco RoughRiders at Hodgetown Stadium on September 19, 2021 in Amarillo, Texas. Stepping up improvements for minor leaguers after widespread criticism, MLB will now provide most of those players with their own beds in team housing beginning next season

This season, with the help of Advocates for Minor Leaguers, players circulated videos and pictures on social media showing their living conditions. In many cases, players were packed into hotel rooms

In this August 25, 2016, file photo, New York Mets minor league pitcher Gary Cornish, of the Mets Class A New York-Penn League Brooklyn Cyclones, eats his habitual breakfast in the parking lot of the Red Lion Inn & Suites in New York where he and the other members of his team stay when the team is not traveling

The move is expected to ease the burden on players, some of whom have incomes from teams that fall below the federal poverty line of $12,880 for individuals.  

After successfully lobbying Congress to exempt minor leaguers from federal minimum wage laws, MLB did raise wages between 38 percent and 72 percent when the minor leagues returned in 2021 from a one-season absence caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Players at rookie levels saw the weekly minimum rise from $290 to $400, players at Class A from $290 to $500, at Double-A from $350 to $600 and at Triple-A from $502 to $700. Players are paid only in-season.

The minor league minimum was $46,600 last season for a player signing his first major league contract and $93,000 for a player signing a second or later major league contract. For players in the major leagues, the minimum was $570,500. 

While teams generally arrange for hotel accommodations for road trips, players largely had been left to find their own housing for homestands. 

The level of assistance provided by teams varies widely - lower-level affiliates sometimes arrange host families for younger players, and some organizations have offered housing stipends to some or all players. 

The Houston Astros are believed to have become the first team in baseball to provide furnished apartments to all players when they did so for the 2021 season.

But mostly, players are left to handle housing on their own, usually seeking short-term leases on little notice with a limited budget. It's not uncommon for teammates to overcrowd apartments and sleep on air mattresses. One player and his girlfriend in 2019 even took the unusual step of living in a renovated school bus. 

In one viral video, members of the St. Lous Cardinals Double-A affiliate in Springfield, Missouri were seen sleeping on the floor and atop rows of chairs in a hotel conference room

This season, with the help of Advocates for Minor Leaguers, players circulated videos and pictures on social media showing their living conditions. 

In many cases, players were packed into hotel rooms. In one, members of the St. Lous Cardinals Double-A affiliate in Springfield, Missouri were seen sleeping on the floor of a hotel conference room. 

Another player shared videos of the setup in his car, where he had been sleeping. 

The players who submitted the videos to Advocates for Minor Leaguers were not named.  

To raise awareness of the issues, players in the Mets and Phillies organizations staged an on-field protest during the last weekend of the regular season, wearing teal wristbands.

The demonstration was organized in part by Advocates for Minor Leaguers, which also handed out pamphlets to fans with suggestions for how MLB could treat minor leaguers better. In-season housing was among the ideas, along with raising wages, paying players year-round and offering three meals per day during the season.   

In a previous statement, the group called out MLB's anti-monopoly exemption as a key factor in reducing minor leaguers' compensation and living conditions.  

MLB commissioner Rob Manfred's office announced the new policy on Thursday

Infielder Stone Garrett #11 of the Amarillo Sod Poodles is mobbed at home plate after hitting a walk-off home run during the game against the Frisco RoughRiders at HODGETOWN Stadium on September 19

One anonymous player shared video of his car, which he had been sleeping in this season

To raise awareness of the issues, players in the Mets and Phillies organizations staged an on-field protest during the last weekend of the regular season, wearing teal wristbands

Several Major Leaguers have rushed to the aid of their minor league counterparts amid the economic crunch of the pandemic. Most notably, Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher David Price donated $1,000 to each of the franchise's minor leaguers in 2020 when their season was canceled.  

MLB took over operation of the minors from the National Association of Professional Baseball Leagues and cut minor league affiliates from 162 to 120 for this past season. 

There are four per big league team - Triple-A, Double-A, High-A and Low-A - and additional clubs are allowed at spring training complexes and in the Dominican Republic. Under the changes, big league teams are an average of 200 miles closer to their Triple-A affiliates, allowing most to be within driving distance of their parent team.

Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher David Price has been vocal in his support for minor league players. He was among a group of Major Leaguers to wear the teal wristbands to raise awareness of issues facing minor leaguers

'The owners went into our first season modernizing the player development system focused on addressing longstanding issues that have impacted minor league players for decades,' MLB executive vice president of baseball operations Morgan Sword said in a statement. 

'Owners knew that a change of this scale always meant that more work would need to be done to achieve our shared goals. This step forward recognizes that the unprecedented nature of the past two years has further exacerbated affordable housing challenges across the country that existed before the pandemic. 

'The owners are confident that this investment will help ensure that minor league players have every opportunity to achieve their dreams of becoming major leaguers.' 

Earlier in the season, several players complained anonymously about their meals