The Boston Red Sox Tuesday, April 21, 2020 * The Boston Globe Red Sox will pay full-time employees through May Peter Abraham The Red Sox informed full-time employees Monday that their salaries are guaranteed through at least May 31. The decision was made after Major League Baseball informed teams that commissioner Rob Manfred will suspend uniform employee contracts as of May 1. That gives teams the option to furlough baseball operations employees or cut their salaries because of the COVID-19 pandemic. That includes major- and minor-league managers, coaches, scouts, trainers, and other staff members, about 9,000 in people in all across baseball. “Our clubs rely heavily on revenue from tickets/concessions, broadcasting/media, licensing, and sponsorships to pay salaries,” Manfred wrote in an e-mail to teams, a copy of which was obtained by the Associated Press. “In the absence of games, these revenue streams will be lost or substantially reduced, and clubs will not have sufficient funds to meet their financial obligations.” The Red Sox have declined that option for at least the next six weeks. Based on the team’s 2020 media guide, the Sox have approximately 400 full-time employees, including baseball operations. Various outlets have reported that the Astros, Blue Jays, Braves, Brewers, Cardinals, Cubs, Diamondbacks, Giants, Mariners, Marlins, Phillies, Reds, Rockies, Royals, Tigers, Twins, and White Sox also will continue to pay at least their baseball operations employees. Most of the others are expected to make that commitment in the coming days. Some small-market teams could resort to cost-cutting measures as baseball, like so many other businesses, deals with a lack of revenue due to the game being shut down. These decisions do not affect any major league players, who are represented by the MLB Players Association. Players are being paid partial salaries, based on service time, out of a pool of $170 million. That agreement runs through May 24. Subsequent salaries will be determined based on how many games are played. MLB is expected to seek additional cuts if games are played without fans. Because the pandemic was labeled a national emergency by the federal government, provisions in the uniform player and employee contracts allow for the commissioner to approve unilateral pay cuts. Provisions have been made to pay minor league players a portion of their salaries. The Red Sox are among the teams who have set aside funds to aid game-day staffers at Fenway Park. According to The Athletic and ESPN, MLB is paying its employees through May 31. Manfred and other senior staffers have taken an average pay cut of 35 percent. * The Boston Herald Red Sox agree to pay front office staff through May 31 Jason Mastrodonato While MLB was reportedly set to allow teams to furlough or reduce the pay of uniformed employees effective May 1, the Red Sox are one of the teams that will guarantee full salary and benefits through May 31. This will affect all full-time front office staff members, not just those in baseball operations. That includes coaches, scouts and anyone under uniformed employee contracts. MLB commissioner Rob Manfred informed his own league staff that he and other senior employees would take a paycut and see an average salary reduction of 35 percent, though they would be paid through at least May 31, according to ESPN. The Athletic reported that Manfred also informed teams on Monday that they could furlough managers, coaches, trainers, scouts and any uniformed employee contacts as of May 1. “Our clubs rely heavily on revenue from tickets/concessions, broadcasting/media, licensing and sponsorships to pay salaries,” Manfred wrote in an email that was obtained and reported by The Associated Press. “In the absence of games, these revenue streams will be lost or substantially reduced, and clubs will not have sufficient funds to meet their financial obligations.” The Red Sox, Braves, Phillies, Giants, Marlins, White Sox and Reds have committed to paying their full- time front office staff through May 31. Derek Jeter, chief executive officer and co-owner of the Marlins, has reportedly forgone his salary entirely and given pay cuts to members of the executive organization team. MLB is still working on a plan that could begin play using spring training facilities in Arizona. As of last week, the idea was approved by the nation’s leading infectious diseases expert, Dr. Anthony Fauci, so long as the players stayed in hotel rooms and were insulated from the outside world. Red Sox interim manager Ron Roenicke said he did not think the plan was feasible enough for him to start looking into the details, but he does believe the 2020 season will take place in some form. * MassLive.com Coronavirus: Boston Red Sox will pay baseball operations employees through May 31 (report) Chris Cotillo The Red Sox have committed to pay their baseball operations employees through at least May 31, according to a report from ESPN’s Jeff Passan. Multiple teams throughout baseball have made similar commitments as they face tough financial decisions necessitated by the ongoing coronavirus crisis. With the start of the MLB season indefinitely delayedd, teams are losing cash flow and having to make decisions about how to allocate resources in the coming months. As part of the temporary labor agreement reached between teams and players last month, Major League Baseball’s owners committed a $170 million cash advance to be split among its players for April and May but offered no guarantees past May 31. If there is a baseball season, players will be paid prorated salaries depending on how many games are played though it’s unclear how non-uniform personnel will be compensated. According to Passan, teams are considering the possibility of furloughing lower-level employees who could be made whole by unemployment benefits. Over the next six weeks, teams will likely consider a wide range of different options regarding how to compensate their baseball operations employees. Boston Red Sox’s winning percentage odds 15th best in MLB, third in AL East for uncertain 2020 season Christopher Smith The Red Sox traded stars Mookie Betts and David Price to the Dodgers. They lost ace Chris Sale for 2020 when he underwent Tommy John surgery. But www.BetOnline.ag still has Boston finishing with a winning percentage over .500 if the 2020 season is played. MLB suspended its season definitely in March because of the coronavirus outbreak. The Red Sox’s winning percentage odds are set at .520, 14th in the majors and third in the AL East. The 2019 Red Sox finished with a .519 winning percentage. Winning Percentage odds, per BetOnline: Dodgers .625 Yankees .625 Astros .585 Twins .570 Braves .560 Rays .560 Nationals .560 Athletics .555 Cardinals .540 Indians .535 Mets .535 Cubs .530 Angels .530 Phillies .525 Red Sox .520 White Sox .520 Reds .520 Diamondbacks .515 Brewers .515 Padres .515 Rangers .490 Blue Jays .465 Rockies .455 Pirates .425 Giants .425 Mariners .415 Royals .405 Marlins .400 Tigers .350 Orioles .350 Ben Cherington’s advice to Boston Red Sox’s Chaim Bloom? ‘Manage the inevitable scrutiny,’ view it positively Christopher Smith Former Red Sox GM Ben Cherington received plenty of scrutiny when the 2014 and ’15 teams he constructed lost 175 games combined and finished last in the AL East standings both years. Still, he won one World Series (2013) and most of the 2018 World Series champion Red Sox’s young core was drafted and developed during Cherington’s tenure both as assistant GM and general manager. Reflecting back, he did a much better job as GM than it appeared when ownership replaced him with Dave Dombrowski in August 2015. He thinks the scrutiny he received from the Boston media was fair. “We lost too many games. And in a place like that, if you lose too many games two years in a row, there’s going to be scrutiny and there’s going to be changes," Cherington said back at spring training media day. "I don’t look back on it as an unfair experience.” The Pirates hired Cherington as their new GM in November. Some Boston media members mentioned Cherington as a potential nice fit to return to Boston before principal owner John Henry selected Chaim Bloom as chief baseball officer. “I never really thought about that,” Cherington said. “But I don’t feel like my experience there was unfair. I think I learned a lot from it. I hope I learned a lot from it. Hopefully, I continue to learn all the time.” MassLive.com asked Cherington for advice he’d give Bloom as the 37-year-old enters his first regular season in Boston. “To remind himself and ask others to remind him and each other every day just about who they are, how they really want to do the job and what that looks like every day," Cherington said. "And to help each other manage the inevitable scrutiny that comes with that job anywhere but certainly in a place like that. The scrutiny is a good thing because it drives the interest and holds the team to the highest level of accountability. “So I’m saying that in the positive sense,” Cherington added. “But operating within it, you’ve got to be able to manage that. It’s your name. You’ve got to be able to work with a group of people just to be the best version of yourself every day. So that’s what I would tell him.” Cherington delivered a World Series in 2013, then experienced a difficult rebuild in 2014-15 that eventually led the Red Sox to three straight AL East titles after his departure.