On Tuesday, Jeff Passan reported that 20 teams had announced that they would pay baseball operations employees through at least May 31. Keep in mind that because of the coronavirus pandemic, MLB had to stop its operations and the start of the season was delayed, which affects not only players, but also staffers. Initially, the New York Yankees and Mets weren’t on the list of reported teams that would provide such paymet through May.
The teams reported by Passan were: Chicago Cubs, Chicago White Sox, Philadelphia Phillies, Atlanta Braves, Colorado Rockies, San Francisco Giants, Cincinnati Reds, Toronto Blue Jays, Minnesota Twins, Arizona Diamondbacks, Milwaukee Brewers, St. Louis Cardinals, Kansas City Royals, Miami Marlins, Houston Astros, Boston Red Sox, Detroit Tigers, and Seattle Mariners. The Los Angeles Angels later added themselves.
The San Diego Padres went a step further and assured their employees that they would be paying them through the rest of the season.
Yankees and Mets are coming through in the end
Later on Tuesday, it was reported that the Yankees are actually going to pay their employees, at the very least, through the month of May.
“Yankees have committed to paying employees through May 31. At least two-thirds of teams are doing the same. Good for them all,” Jon Heyman reported via his official Twitter account.
“Yankees tell baseball ops employees that they will be paid full salaries and get full benefits thru May 31,” Brendan Kuty added.
The Yankees were also joined by the Mets throughout the day.
MLB.com’s beat writer Anthony DiComo reported “the Mets are among those teams committed to paying their full-time employees full salaries through at least May 31, a source confirmed.”
After failing to appear in the initial list of teams paying their staffers through May, the Yankees and Mets are coming through for their employees and their families, which is actually a very cool story.