Amid the negativity that is COVID-19, there has shown another ray of light. Over half of the MLB clubs have said they’d pay their operations staff through May.
This comes amid MLB commissioner Rob Manfred mentioning that he feels the season still will go on at some point. In all 18 teams have been reported as saying they would pay their baseball operations staff through the end of May. Some teams have gone even further including the San Diego Padres. They have come out and said they would pay their operations staff through the end of the regularly scheduled season.
The teams that have notified MLB that they would be handing out checks to operations employees include the Atlanta Braves, Toronto Blue Jays, St. Louis Cardinals, San Francisco Giants, Seattle Mariners, Philadelphia Phillies, Miami Marlins, Minnesota Twins, Kansas City Royals, Houston Astros, Detroit Tigers, Colorado Rockies, Cincinnati Reds, Arizona Diamondbacks, Boston Red Sox, Chicago Cubs, and the Chicago White Sox.
The Continuing Effects of the Pause
There are, however, several teams that have not yet notified the league of any such actions. Those teams include MLB’s biggest market and revenue teams in the New York Yankees, Los Angeles Dodgers, New York Mets, and the reigning World Series champion Washington Nationals. The announcements help combat an earlier message by Manfred that planned to suspend Uniform Employee Contracts on May 1.
The potential layoffs and so forth have brought about interesting scenarios for teams. Some teams have considered furloughing lower-paid employees. Sources say that’s to avoid those same workers seeking unemployment benefits that would either match or exceed what they’d make with the team. That just adds to the overall muddy waters that the pause has put on the pocketbooks of Major League Baseball. It’s not just the direct financial burden that no baseball has had on MLB.
The longer that baseball is not played, the more tension could arise with the players union. The effect is also starting to force the hands of owners who some have suggested that it would cost them more to actually play them. Some have also said the agreement already put in place that would give players prorated salaries could also allow for cuts.
There’s no doubt that no baseball is a detriment on multiple fronts. There lies a lot of trouble on the horizon as MLB attempts to return the season. Some teams have already tried all they can to help fend off the effects of no baseball. Only time will tell what the true financial toll may be for Major League Baseball.
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