Red Sox among MLB teams to pay full-time employees through May 31
The 2020 season has been on hold since spring training was canceled March 12.
With employees of some teams uncertain of their employment status beyond the end of the month, Major League Baseball this week is expected to make it easier for teams to institute furloughs or pay reductions as the 2020 season remains delayed by the novel coronavirus pandemic.
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The 2020 season has been on hold since spring training was canceled March 12, and there is no firm indication as to when or if the regular season can begin.
Various teams have taken different approaches to guarantee paychecks to UEC-covered employees — including major-league and minor-league managers and coaches, scouts and some front-office personnel — during the shutdown.
The Red Sox are among those who have guaranteed full-time employees their pay through the end of May. The Atlanta Braves, Chicago White Sox, Cincinnati Reds, Miami Marlins, Philadelphia Phillies and San Francisco Giants reportedly have done the same.
One Colorado Rockies staffer said Monday that employees there have been reassured they will continue to be paid throughout the shutdown, though that policy was not spelled out in writing.
The Washington Nationals and Baltimore Orioles are among those who have promised to pay employees through the end of April. One Orioles employee said ownership was expected to clarify the situation further during an all-employee “town hall” conference call Friday.
At MLB’s central office, employees recently were informed they would be paid at least through May 31, with Manfred and other high-ranking staff taking pay cuts averaging 35 percent.
On March 17, MLB announced its team would contribute $1 million each to assist ballpark workers who found themselves out of work because of the coronavirus shutdown, with Manfred saying owners were “motivated by a desire to help some of the most valuable members of the baseball community.”
“I think the clubs have been phenomenal about making every effort to continue some economic support for everybody who makes a living off baseball, broadly defined,” Manfred told The Associated Press last week.
Player compensation is a separate issue, collectively bargained with the MLB Players Association. Last month, the sides reached agreement on a deal that would pay players collectively 4% of their total salaries in the event of a canceled season — $170 million total — and prorated salaries for a reduced 2020 schedule, based on the number of games played.
Baseball has explored the idea of a playing a reduced 2020 season in Arizona, isolating players and other essential personnel within a protective quarantine bubble and playing games without fans at the Arizona Diamondbacks’ Chase Field and spring training facilities. However, the idea is predicated upon a large increase in the availability of testing and reaching further agreement with the union on the format, scheduling and other issues surrounding the resumption of play.
The Korean Baseball Organization has announced its intention to begin its season in early May without fans, following South Korea’s largely successful efforts to stop the spread of coronavirus. Taiwan had started its season April 12.
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The Washington Post’s Barry Svrluga and Jesse Dougherty contributed to this report.
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