Experts Weigh in on Marlins Covid Outbreak: What it Means for the Team and MLB
Following news that 13 individuals with the Miami Marlins team have tested positive for Covid-19, experts at ESPN attempted to answer the tough questions. Both Orioles-Marlins games scheduled for Monday and Tuesday have been postponed as a result. Additionally, the Yankees-Phillies game Monday was postponed out of an abundance of caution since the Marlins had used the clubhouse New York was slated to use.
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Does the Marlins' outbreak of positive cases put their season in jeopardy?
"Of course, but that's why there's a taxi squad of up to 30 players. If the league is going to continue play, then it's next man up, as hard as that might be to believe. There really is no other choice. If the Marlins' season is in jeopardy, then the entire league's is as well." -- Jesse Rogers
What does the Marlins' outbreak mean for the state of the MLB season as a whole?
What is already a 13-person outbreak is the exact kind of situation MLB's system of protocols was designed to prevent, insofar as anything related to COVID-19 is preventable, notes Bradford Doolittle. The real concern is if Phillies and their stadium personnel, as well as the weekend's umpiring crews, start turning up positive tests. Major League Baseball is less of a contact sport. For now, the mindset is one in which the visitor clubhouse and close contact among fellow players would be the culprit.
Impact on Other Teams
The Marlins played in Atlanta, another coronavirus hot spot, prior to Philadelphia.
"They played three games against the Phillies, occupying the visiting clubhouse at Citizens Bank Park, where the Yankees were due to take up residence Monday. The Marlins were slated to play the Orioles, who, presumably, are already in Miami. The Braves just finished a three-game series against the Mets, on the heels of their exhibition games against the Marlins. The Mets, meanwhile, are headed to Boston to begin a series Monday night at Fenway Park.
"Hopefully, this outbreak is confined to the Marlins. However, you can easily see how one team's outbreak could cause the whole house of cards to crumble. For now, we already know that the Yankees-Phillies game for Monday has been postponed, so at least those two teams have been tangibly impacted in addition to the Marlins." -- Doolittle
Can Games Be Made Up?
Each team's schedule has six built-in days off. Double headers are possible but the season is tight.
"Making up games is a side issue to figuring out just how bad this outbreak is and which teams, clubhouse personnel and umpires have been affected." -- Doolittle
- Dan Shapiro, Gambling911.com
