The Miami Marlins had another positive test for the player’s coronavirus on Thursday, bringing the team’s total to 19, a source confirmed to ESPN.
In total, the Marlins have had 17 players and two coaches who tested positive in the past week, sources confirmed to ESPN. All games for the team have been postponed until Sunday by Major League Baseball.
The team is evaluating how to complete a roster with a mix of players: those already in the organization and training at their alternate site in Jupiter, Florida, free agents and exemption claims.
Starting pitchers José Ureña and Sandy Alcántara, first baseman Garrett Cooper, right fielder Harold Ramírez and catcher Jorge Alfaro are just some of the players who tested positive for coronavirus.
The Marlins remain in Philadelphia, where they played last weekend and have undergone daily testing. The prospect of the team’s season restarting at home on Tuesday against the Philadelphia Phillies remains in doubt.
If, instead, the Marlins play that series in Philadelphia, they could travel by bus to New York to face the Mets, then by bus to Buffalo, New York, where the Blue Jays plan to play their home games this season. In that scenario, the Marlins would not return home until their Aug. 14 series against Atlanta, although Miami-Dade County currently requires a 14-day quarantine for people entering the area from New York, which further complicates matters. things.
Miami could make up for the three games against Washington that have been postponed this weekend by scheduling two double heads during future series and playing on their shared day off on September 17. Getting your four lost games back against Baltimore, an interleague opponent, could be tricky, leading to the possibility that the Marlins won’t play a full 60-game schedule.
In light of the Marlins outbreak, MLB is encouraging players not to leave hotels in highway cities except for games, ordering the use of surgical masks instead of cloth masks during the trip and requiring each team to travel with a compliance officer who ensures players and staff adequately follow league protocol, sources told ESPN on Wednesday.
ESPN’s Jeff Passan contributed to this report.
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