the Nationals and the District of Columbia are engaged in some sort of showdown, the team tries to convince local authorities to grant an exception to its strict COVID-19 quarantine rules, and suggests it may drive games away from the National Park if the city doesn’t comply. , A source familiar with the confirmed situation.
Although DC Mayor Muriel Bowser granted the team a waiver earlier this month to hold training and games in Nationals Park despite the city’s Phase 2 law restricting mass gatherings to no more than 50 people. The team still has to comply with the local 14-day quarantine protocol for anyone who is exposed to someone who tested positive for COVID-19.
That protocol, among the strictest in the country, prevented a sizable group of Nationals players and a coach from participating during the first two weeks of summer training, even those who never tested positive and never showed symptoms of the disease.
Some of the affected personnel have completed their 14 days in quarantine: Juan Soto, Howie Kendrick and Luis Garcia They all made their summer training debut tonight, joining Starlin castro and hitting coach Kevin Long, who had previously been quarantined. Gardener Victor Robles and launchers Fernando Abad and Joan Adon You have not yet been authorized to participate. Relievers Wander Serum and Roenis Elías They were placed on the 10-day injured list for unspecified reasons earlier this week.
Shortly after camp opened, the Nationals announced that two players tested positive for COVID-19 on the admission test, but had no symptoms. They have said there has been no more positive evidence since then.
The Nationals are concerned that they may lose players for a full two weeks during the season if anyone comes in contact with people who tested positive for the virus, even if those players meet the less stringent protocols that Major League Baseball has implemented this season. Local regulations supersede league protocols.
In theory, players from visiting teams could also be forced to quarantine Washington for two weeks if they come in contact with someone who tests positive in the city.
With all that in mind, the Nationals are exploring the possibility of relocating their games at home to the new Single-A complex in Fredericksburg that currently serves as their supplemental training site on the roster or to their spring training complex in West Palm Beach. .
Neither alternative is particularly attractive. The Fredericksburg complex is not 100 percent complete and is not a major league facility. FITTEAM Ballpark of the Palm Beaches is equipped to host games and the number of staff involved, but Florida has seen one of the nation’s largest spikes in COVID-19 cases in the past two months.
Nationals Park remains the club’s clear preference, and the club has spent the past few weeks preparing the stadium for next season. Just today, workers installed canopies beyond the two shelters to allow for greater social distancing of players and coaches during games. They have also begun to cover seating sections in the garden with patterned tarps with advertisements.
If DC officials don’t grant the team an exception before opening night in a week, the Nationals will have to go ahead and play in town and accept the possibility that some players may be quarantined for two weeks in a row, or make an unwanted decision to take games out of town.
The Washington Post first reported that the team is exploring alternative options in Fredericksburg and West Palm Beach.
.
