Two Monday night MLB games were postponed due to a coronavirus outbreak among the Miami Marlins.
The Marlins ‘home opener against the Baltimore Orioles is off, as is the Philadelphia Phillies’ home game against the New York Yankees.
Miami just completed a series in Philadelphia, and seven more players and two coaches with the Marlins tested positive for the coronavirus. An outbreak spread throughout his clubhouse and brought the total number of cases in the past few days to at least 13, sources familiar with the situation told ESPN’s Jeff Passan and Jesse Rogers.
MLB said the games were postponed as the league conducts more tests.
“Members of the Marlins’ travel group are quarantined while awaiting the outcome of those results,” MLB said in a statement. “Major League Baseball has been coordinating with the Major League Baseball Players Association; the Marlins; the Orioles; the Marlins weekend opponent, the Phillies; and the Club’s medical staff, and will continue to provide updates as appropriate.”
The Marlins also released a statement on behalf of CEO Derek Jeter.
“The health of our players and staff has been and will continue to be our primary goal as we navigate these unknown waters,” he said. “After a successful Spring 2.0, we have now experienced challenges once we hit the road and out of Miami. Postponing tonight’s opening of the house was the right decision to make sure we took a collective break and tried to properly understand the whole of this situation. “
MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred’s regularly scheduled conference call with the owners takes on new meaning Monday in light of the current situation.
An MLB source told ESPN’s Pedro Gomez that the league is also considering suspending the Phillies and Yankees game on Tuesday. This would allow the Yankees to leave Philadelphia and return home. The same clubs are slated to play in the Bronx on Wednesdays and Thursdays.
Before the Yankees and Phillies game was postponed on Monday, the Yankees were informed that the visitors’ clubhouse had been completely disinfected several times, sources told ESPN’s Marly Rivera. The Yankees also brought in their own New York clubhouse staff to work on the game, but those actions don’t seem to have been enough.
On Sunday, four Marlins players tested positive for the coronavirus, including that day’s starting pitcher Jose Urena, according to sources familiar with the situation, prompting the team to delay their post-game trip home amid concerns. about a possible outbreak.
The Marlins were already going to be without Urena’s services; catcher Jorge Alfaro, who was placed on the disabled list before his season opener on Friday; infielder Garrett Cooper; and the gardener Harold Ramírez.
Before the Marlins’ opening series in Philadelphia, the team played an exhibition game in Atlanta on Wednesday. It is also possible that infections occurred there.
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