Major League Baseball's 2020 season is not even a week old and one team has already experienced a coronavirus outbreak that will sideline a chunk of its roster and has caused multiple games to be postponed. The Miami Marlins are now up to at least 17 reported positive cases of COVID-19 between players and coaches of the traveling team since Opening Day, including four more players testing positive on Tuesday, according to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic.
Miami's traveling party remains quarantined in Philadelphia, but the new positive tests suggest their series later this week in Baltimore could also be in danger of not being played as scheduled. (Commissioner Rob Manfred suggested the two teams could resume play as soon as Wednesday, provided there were "acceptable" testing results.)
The Marlins haven't been the only team impacted by the outbreak. The Orioles returned to Baltimore on Monday night, and the Philadelphia Phillies, who hosted the Marlins over the weekend at Citizens Bank Park, also had their Monday and Tuesday night games vs. the Yankees postponed.
The "vast majority" of Nationals players have voted against traveling to Miami for this weekend's three-game series, reports The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal. Ultimately, the final decision rests with MLB. The Nationals are currently without superstar outfielder Juan Soto, who tested positive on Opening Day and is still going through protocol. Manager Dave Martinez, who has a heart condition, told reporters on Monday, "I'm scared. I really am."
MLB issued the following statement on Monday:
Tonight's scheduled games between the Miami Marlins and the Baltimore Orioles at Marlins Park and the Philadelphia Phillies and the New York Yankees at Citizens Bank Park have been postponed while Major League Baseball conducts additional COVID-19 testing. The members of the Marlins' traveling party are self-quarantining in place while awaiting the outcomes of those results. Major League Baseball has been coordinating with the Major League Baseball Players Association; the Marlins; the Orioles; the Marlins' weekend opponent, the Phillies; and Club medical staffs, and will continue to provide updates as appropriate.
Marlins CEO Derek Jeter released a statement saying postponing Monday night's game was "the correct decision."
"The health of our players and staff has been and will continue to be our primary focus as we navigate through these unchartered waters. After a successful Spring 2.0, we have now experienced challenges once we went on the road and left Miami. Postponing tonight's home opener was the correct decision to ensure we take a collective pause and try to properly grasp the totality of this situation. We have conducted another round of testing for our players and staff, and our team will all remain in Philadelphia pending the results of those tests, which we expect later today. We will provide additional information as soon as it becomes available."
Here are four additional things to know about this story.
Who has been affected?
Four individuals consented to allow the Marlins to disclose their positive test ahead of Monday and Tuesday's news: Catcher Jorge Alfaro, outfielders Garrett Cooper and Harold Ramirez, and pitcher Jose Urena, who was scratched prior to his Sunday start. None of the others have had their identities revealed. Remember, they have to give the Marlins permission.
Where are the Marlins, Orioles?
The Marlins have not left Philadelphia. They were scheduled to depart on Sunday evening, after the game, but changed their plans to leave on Monday. That flight did not take off, however.
The Orioles, meanwhile, are back in Baltimore. Outfielder Dwight Smith Jr. tweeted that the plane was departing for Miami on Sunday night. That tracks with the normal operating procedures that see teams arrive the night prior rather than the morning of games. They then returned back home on Monday evening.
Are the Phillies at risk of a similar outbreak?
Because the Marlins almost certainly had individuals who tested positive playing in games over the weekend, it's fair to wonder if the Phillies might be at risk of a similar outbreak.
Based on what is known about COVID-19, the highest risk for infection is spending prolonged time in closed or poorly ventilated areas with large crowds and in an intimate fashion. In other words, playing a baseball game outside with (mostly) fleeting contact does not seem like a situation that should engender transmission from one individual to another -- at least not on another team.
The Athletic talked to a pair of infectious-disease experts who agreed that the likelihood of transmission from the Marlins to the Phillies was "low." Of course, "low" doesn't mean zero, and Phillies players (and Yankees players, if they are asked to dress in the same clubhouse as the Marlins did) are right to be nervous about the situation at hand.
So far, there's been no indication that any Phillies player contracted COVID-19 from the Marlins series.
Will the season be canceled?
For the time being, no. Owners and commissioner Rob Manfred held a conference call Monday afternoon and reportedly decided not to pause or cancel the 2020 season at present. Still, there is plenty of uncertainty moving forward. Ostensibly, if the season remains in place, then more players could opt-out rather than expose themselves and their loved ones to the potential for a similar outbreak in their clubhouse.
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Marlins COVID-19 outbreak: Four additional players test positive; 17 total reported cases among team - CBS Sports
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