MLB postpones 2 Monday games as Marlins deal with COVID-19 outbreak
Major League Baseball postponed two games scheduled for Monday due to a COVID-19 outbreak within the Miami Marlins, who played a weekend series in Philadelphia.
The Marlins' home opener against the Baltimore Orioles and a game between the Philadelphia Phillies and the New York Yankees at Citizens Bank Park were both called off.
At least 13 members of the Marlins organization recently tested positive for COVID-19, ESPN's Jeff Passan and Jesse Rogers report. Players Jorge Alfaro, Jose Urena, Garrett Cooper, and Harold Ramirez reportedly tested positive over the weekend, while the names of the other people who tested positive remain unknown.
Urena, Cooper, and Ramirez were all placed on the injured list Monday, though the team did not announce why. Alfaro was already on the IL.
The Marlins apparently knew four players had received positive test results prior to their game against the Phillies on Sunday, but manager Don Mattingly said the team "never really considered not playing," according to The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal and Jayson Stark.
"The members of the Marlins' traveling party are self-quarantining in place" while awaiting the results of additional COVID-19 testing, MLB said in a statement. The league added that it has been coordinating with the MLBPA, the Marlins, the Orioles, the Phillies, and the clubs' medical staff.
Marlins CEO Derek Jeter said in a statement: "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."
The Phillies are expected to fumigate the entire visiting clubhouse, according to MLB Network's Jon Heyman, while the Yankees await instructions at a hotel in Philadelphia, according to James Wagner of the New York Times.
The Phillies are getting tested Monday at Citizens Bank Park because of their exposure to the Marlins. Their results will help determine if Tuesday's game against the Yankees goes on, Rosenthal adds. The team is also quarantining all of its visiting clubhouse staffers, sources told The Athletic's Matt Gelb, and some were tested Sunday.
The Orioles, meanwhile, are returning to Baltimore on Monday, sources told Passan. The Marlins are reportedly expected to travel to the city at some point before Wednesday.
Tuesday's Marlins-Orioles contest is also canceled, Manfred confirmed Monday on MLB Network. Wednesday's game at Camden Yards remains dependent on the results of COVID-19 tests.
Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan is monitoring the situation and is in contact with the Orioles ahead of the Marlins' potential visit to the state, a spokesperson for Hogan's office told Mark Viviano of WIZ-TV Baltimore.