Pirates to pay baseball staff through May, exploring possibility of tiered salary reductions

The Pittsburgh Pirates will pay baseball operations staff through May 31 and are exploring the possibility of tiered salary reductions for their most highly compensated employees.

MLB Network’s Jon Heyman first reported that the Pirates would pay employees through at least May 31 while the sport is shut down amid the global pandemic over the coronavirus that causes covid-19.

Pirates president Travis Williams and general manager Ben Cherington led a conference call with the organization’s managers, coaches, scouts and training staff Tuesday morning to discuss the impact of MLB commissioner Rob Manfred’s decision to suspend the Uniform Employees Contract. The UEC suspension allows teams to furlough or lay off employees in the absence of baseball, given that teams are losing the profit from games, television contracts, merchandising and more during the suspension of the season.

“There is obviously a lot of uncertainty and speculation around the 2020 season,” Williams said in a statement released by the Pirates. “While the league is looking at multiple scenarios, each represents a significant negative impact to our operations. As has been the case throughout this rapidly-changing crisis, we are working hard to minimize its effect on our employees.”

The Pirates prefer to prevent furloughs and layoffs, if necessary, which is why Williams and Cherington discussed the possibility of the tiered salary reduction, which would hit the highest-paid employees hardest to salvage other salaries.

“Part of what makes this situation so difficult is that nobody truly knows with absolute certainty what the short-term and long-term outlook will be moving forward,” Williams said in the statement. “The coronavirus and its impact on our community and our sport evolves by the day.

“We wish that we didn’t have to have these conversations, but they have become necessary as this crisis continues to impact our operations. We will always keep the best interests of our employees and the organization in mind, and continue doing everything we can to support our community.”