Players from the Los Angeles Dodgers including right-hander Hiroki Kuroda have been left dangling on a precipice after team owner Frank McCourt filed for bankruptcy protection on Monday.
The team listed as much as $1 billion in assets and $500 million in debt in a Chapter 11 petition filed with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Wilmington, Delaware, ahead of its game against the Minnesota Twins.
The Dodgers do not have enough cash to make payroll this week and need access to at least $20 million to deliver payments.
McCourt is blaming Major League Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig's recent refusal to approve a multibillion dollar Fox television deal as the reason for the filing.
"I have to just focus on each game as usual and play my best. I don't know what to say about anything else," Kuroda said.
The Los Angeles Times online edition published the team's bankruptcy filing on Monday.
It lists 40 of the Dodgers' largest creditors, which include current and past players and Dodger announcer Vince Scully.