Former Padres Infielder Takes $22,000-a-Year Job With Yankees' Affiliate

When former San Diego Padres infielder Cory Spangenberg elected free agency in November 2022, he didn't know what he would do next. He had struggled to find playing time in the big leagues for a few years and was staring the end of his playing career in the face.

Fast forward to April 2024, he didn't have a job and wasn't exactly looking for one until he was at a local trampoline with his family and a chance encounter with majority Lackawanna County commissioner Matt McGloin turned into an opportunity he couldn't turn down.

Lackawanna County hired Spangenberg as the liaison between the commissioners and the New York Yankees Triple-A affiliate Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders. Spangenberg said he began his new part-time job on Tuesday. The position pays $22,000 per year. 

"It's just the communications between the county, the RailRiders and the Yankees," Spangenberg said Wednesday. "Anything from the day-to-day operations or upgrades needed, and just being at the game and being able to speak with the different people that come through the commissioner's box."

Spangenberg was selected 10th overall by the San Diego Padres in the 2011 draft. He made his major league debut in 2014 and had his best big-league season in 2017, hitting .264 with 13 homers, 46 RBIs, and 11 stolen bases as the Padres' starting second baseman. He appeared in 32 games for the Milwaukee Brewers in 2019 and, returned to the MLB in 2022 with the St. Louis Cardinals after two seasons with the Seibu Lions in the Japan Pacific League.

"One of the reasons (I took the job) is, I'm at the baseball field," Spangenberg said. "I'm not behind a desk. I would never, at this point, take a job behind a desk. I couldn't see myself doing that after being active for so long.

"But it's also a part-time job and I'll still be able to spend the majority of my time with my family. It was also important to have the most time I could with my family still.