The Pittsburgh Pirates are suspending retirement benefits for members of the club's baseball operations staff amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Ben Cherington says the team has been searching for ways to find savings with the 2020 season on hold. The temporary suspension of retirement benefits is part of an effort to avoid any potential personnel cutbacks.

"We did identify the retirement contributions at least temporarily as an area where we might find some savings without too much impact on people, in terms of their every-day lives," the general manager said. "Our full expectation is that the contribution will go back into effect as soon as possible."