The Miami Marlins will press pause in their season to focus on the health and safety of their players when a coronavirus outbreak has affected the team, the league announced.
Sportsgrid’s Craig Mish first reported that the Marlins’ games were temporarily on hold. Major League Baseball then issued a statement on the matter.
ROB MANFRED DOES NOT THINK THE MARLINS GROSS IS A “NIGHTMARE” STATUS FOR THE MLB, AS POSITIVE TESTS OF COVID-19 GROW
The league announced that the Marlins games would be postponed until Sunday. MLB also said games between the Philadelphia Phillies and the New York Yankees would also be postponed. The Yankees would start a home-and-home series on Wednesday against the Baltimore Orioles.
“The health and safety protocols were designed with a challenging circumstance like that faced by the Marlins in mind. The response described in the joint MLB-MLBPA Operations Manual was immediately triggered upon learning of the cluster of positive cases, including contact tracing and the quarantine and evidence of all identified close contacts. Marlins staff who tested positive have been placed in isolation and are receiving care, “MLB said in a statement.
“In more than 6,400 tests conducted since Friday, July 24, there have been no new positive aspects of staff on the field for any of the other 29 clubs. This result is in line with encouraging overall data since the start of tests on 27 June Until the last Thursday, July 23, 99 of the 32,640 samples – 0.3% – had been positive.
“The difficult circumstances of a Club reinforce the vital need to be diligent with protocols in every way, both on and off the field. We will continue to strengthen our protocols and make necessary adjustments. The realities of the virus remain important, and we must operate. with that in mind every day. We are confident that clubs and players will act appropriately, for themselves and for others, and the data provides reason to believe that protocols can work effectively. “
At least four Marlins players tested positive for the coronavirus before Sunday’s game against the Philadelphia Phillies. The Marlins and Phillies played anyway, but the positive tests at the time seemed to be just the tip of the iceberg.
On Monday, several additional players tested positive for the coronavirus. The Marlins were forced to postpone games between the Baltimore Orioles because of it. The Phillies’ series against the New York Yankees was also suspended.
On Tuesday, The Athletic reported that four more players tested positive, bringing the total number to 17 positive cases.
MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred addressed the situation on the MLB Network on Monday.
YANKEES-PHILLIES POSTPONED FOR SECOND STRAIGHT DAY
“I don’t put this in the nightmare category,” he said. “We don’t want any player to be exposed. It’s not a positive thing, but I don’t see it as a nightmare.”
He continued: “We created the protocols to allow us to continue playing. That is why we have expanded lists. That is why we have expanded groups of additional players. We believe we can keep people safe and keep playing. “
The increasing number of cases could indicate problems for the Marlins, a problem that Manfred said would have to be addressed when it actually happens.
“A team that loses a number of players that made it completely uncompetitive would be a problem that we would have to address and think about making a change to, whether that would end part of a season, the entire season, that depends on the circumstances.” , said.
He continued, “Same thing for the entire league. You get to a certain point in the entire league where it becomes a health threat and we would certainly close at that point.”
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Until now, MLB owners have not discussed canceling the entire season.
Fox News’ Paulina Dedaj contributed to this report.
