Yahoo Sports MLB coronavirus outbreak: Another Marlins player tests positive; Phillies tests still negative
As chaos surrounds MLB’s coronavirus-shortened season, there is a bit of slightly good news: Wednesday’s positive tests weren’t as bad as Monday’s or Tuesday’s.
With the Miami Marlins’ season on pause and the Philadelphia Phillies quarantined, both teams got good news — in the context of this wild week, at least — in the latest batch of COVID-19 test results.
• One more Marlins player tested positive for coronavirus, according to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic, bringing the total to 16. That’s now more than half of the team’s roster. But one is better than four, which was how many positive tests Tuesday brought and better than seven, which is how many came Monday. Two coaches have also tested positive, bringing the entire total to 18.
• With the Marlins in full outbreak, there’s been plenty of concern about the Philadelphia Phillies, their opponent over infection weekend. The Phillies, for the second straight day, reported zero positive tests, according to ESPN’s Jeff Passan. This is a good news, but it’s also important to note that the incubation period for the virus could be as long as 14 days, with 4-5 days being most common. So the Phillies aren’t out of the woods yet.
On Tuesday, Major League Baseball postponed all Phillies games until Friday as the team goes through testing and the main part of the incubation period. On Wednesday, Yahoo Sports confirmed The Athletic’s report that the Phillies will actually return to action Saturday with a doubleheader against the Blue Jays in Philadelphia, then play a single game Sunday.
As part of the schedule shuffling announced by MLB: The Yankees will play the Orioles for two games starting Wednesday. The Yankees had been scheduled to play the Phillies, while the Orioles were playing the Marlins. The original series could be made up in the future. The Washington Nationals, meanwhile, had their weekend series in Miami postponed.
The earliest the Marlins could return is next Monday. Their original schedule wouldn’t have them playing until Tuesday, but Jon Heyman of MLB Network reports a game could be added Monday if Miami can field a team.
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