Any ideas why this player -

https://www.whatifsports.com/hbd/Pages/Popups/PlayerRatings.aspx?pid=9285392

- had his contract auto-renewed to the ML min salary?

I picked him up on waivers at the end of the previous season. MinL filler. One less MinL FA to sign.

Assigned him to AA.

He's ever been on any team's 40 Man or ML roster.

It looks like he was signed to an ML contract when he was drafted.

That shouldn't be a lifetime, league-wide commitment, should it?

I'm sure that's got to be the reason, but it seems like a bug.

Any other theories?

I'm pretty sure it stems from that initial contract. He needs to sign a minor-league contract when he is a free agent. It is a glitch in this system.