From a pure human level, I would too, but the organization's mission statement is to make money and win at the big league level. That money to Marquis or Kevin Gregg, while not the smartest choice, was directly invested in trying to win at the big league level. Those minor league teams have at best 5 or 6 guys that might be able to help the big league team at some point. The rest of those players are there solely for the purpose of fielding a team so they can play games. The cost of those guys is pure expense no different than office supplies or the electric bill. If they can consolidate the real prospects into fewer teams and pay less for the other guys who are just there to be able to fill all the positions and put on the games it should be reviewed. The current model works because the business is willing to pay for it when these guys are making these non-livable wages. If the higher wages become necessary, then every business in the world would try to offset the increase by reducing the number of players they are paying it to. For every guy whose salary triples, two others need to be reduced to offset the cost. At some point every business needs to determine if the cost of any activity is worth it. Playing a game in front of a couple thousand fans who are there on cheap tickets in some small town might be working if the cost of the game is low. Triple the cost by paying all the non-prospect minor league players triple what they make now changes the equation. The decision will come down to whether they think the loss of minor league levels will stunt the growth of the guys they are keeping around as prospects. I don't think the fate of the minor league filler is even a consideration in the decision.
As a human being, I'd love to see these teams show some generosity by paying these guys a livable wage and keeping all these teams intact, but other businesses don't work that way. I'm not sure why we expect the major league organizations to do so. The guys cut loose will land in Mexico, Korea, Japan or independent ball and teams can still sign guys who are playing in those leagues should any of them develop beyond expectations. The ones who aren't even good enough to get jobs in those places should probably get on with their lives instead of spending the next 5 years kicking around the minor leagues for $15K per year. The hard truth hurts sometimes, but it doesn't make it any less true.