Marlins Reportedly Expected to Furlough 40% of Employees Amid COVID-19 Pandemic

The Miami Marlins plan to furlough about 40 percent of their baseball operations department amid the COVID-19 pandemic, according to The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal.

The furloughs will likely total between 90 and 100 employees and begin June 1. Rosenthal added that more MLB teams are expected to furlough employees.

Rosenthal first reported April 19 that MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred was suspending Uniform Employee Contracts starting May 1 with the 2020 season on hold. That allowed teams to cut employee pay or initiate any furloughs.

The decision is at the discretion of individual franchises, so teams have taken a variety of steps in response to the pandemic.

The Athletic's Dennis Lin reported the San Diego Padres were cutting the pay for their baseball operations department to proactively avoid any furloughs or layoffs. Corey Brock of The Athletic reported the Seattle Mariners made a similar move.

The Philadelphia Phillies and Detroit Tigers have signaled to their employees as well they weren't expecting to make any reductions to their staff.

MLB has yet to finalize a date by which it will start the regular season.

USA Today's Bob Nightengale reported team owners approved a plan and forwarded it to the MLB Players Association. Under the proposal, players would begin training in early June ahead of a possible July 1 Opening Day.

However, the owners are seeking a 50-50 revenue split with players rather than paying them prorated salaries, which is shaping up to be a difficult hurdle to overcome.