The timing, with the atmosphere in MLB today, does make it look purely as a greedy owners maneuver. But I can see someone at the owners meetings saying, in response to the complaints about minor league player conditions and compensation, "why do we need all these guys?"
In these dark days of Tigers baseball, there are some hundreds of players in the system that cannot play in the Bigs, and whose sole purpose is to serve as proving ground for the few who may.
I haven't heard what percentage of these team's budgets come from MLB (which could be crucial element), but independent leagues do survive and any players would still be available if there is a demand.
That's a good point about pay/conditions. Like you said there is no reason they can't survive as an independent league.
I would also like to know what the cost is to MLB. Is it a pure cost cut, or is there more to it?
We have an Frontier League team near me and I get in a couple games there a year. They do a good job maintaining the field, and it is a fun and inexpensive way to take your kids to a ball game. Sure the quality of ball isn't all that great, but the beers are cheap...lol!
There is so much money in MLB it's hard to understand why these cuts would be needed.