According to MLB insider Robert Murray on Twitter, the St. Louis Cardinals have multiple new positive COVID-19 tests. Murray cites sources with direct knowledge of the situation.
The Cardinals and Brewers lost a weekend series, as there was concern that the virus may have affected the Cardinals. On Friday, Craig Mish tweeted that two Cardinals had tested positive, and that number has grown in the last 48 hours. There are unconfirmed reports that Cardinals players were recently seen in a casino.
This is a blow to MLB, as the Marlins and Phillies were getting set to resume action this week. With no Phillies players testing positive, there was thought that the outbreak on the player level was confined to the Marlins, and that the season could begin with all teams in action soon. However, that clearly will not be the case, at least for a while.
On Friday, commissioner Rob Manfred issued a warning that if the game’s competitive integrity is continually compromised by teams being unable to compete and teams playing varying numbers of games, he would consider shutting the season down.
Manfred walked those comments back to a degree on Saturday. Karl Ravech of ESPN tweeted that Manfred said he does not quit, and that he and the owners intended to keep the season going and that the current problems are manageable.
Despite Manfred’s confidence, the events of the last several days are not encouraging. Speculation is that players have been breaking protocols by engaging in activities outside the ballpark. In addition, players had not been restricting in-game contact and socially distancing.
A few players have expressed their displeasure with the conduct of their peers, stating that players everywhere have to remain diligent to avoid a shutdown that would force the loss of a season and associated salaries.
Jon Heyman of MLB Network tweeted that the Dodgers are taking safety protocols very seriously, sharing Justin Turner’s directive to teammates.
Once again, MLB has to hope that the recent outbreak is confined to one team, to keep the number of lost games at a point where the integrity of this already-modified season remains reasonably intact.
This is a fluid situation, and we will continue to update the impact of COVID-19 on the 2020 MLB season as conditions evolve.
