Sources said that eight more players and two coaches with the Marlins have tested positive for coronavirusGetty Images
The Marlins' home opener against the Orioles tonight "has been canceled ... as coronavirus cases continue to pop up among the team," according to sources cited by Jeff Passan of ESPN.com. Sources said that eight more players and two coaches with the Marlins have "tested positive for coronavirus, as an outbreak has spread throughout their clubhouse and brought the total cases in recent days to at least 14." The Marlins remain in Philadelphia and "continue to undergo testing after their weekend series there" against the Phillies. Yesterday, four Marlins players "tested positive for the coronavirus, including that day's starter, Jose Urena ... leading the team to delay its postgame trip home amid concerns about a possible outbreak" (ESPN.com, 7/27). The AP's Steven Wine notes some Marlins players texted each other about the team’s health issues before yesterday's game, but SS Miguel Rojas said that there was "no talk of declining to play." He said, “That was never our mentality. We knew this could happen at some point” (AP, 7/27). Meanwhile, multiple reports this morning also said tonight's Yankees-Phillies game in Philadelphia has been called off (THE DAILY).
WHAT HAPPENED? THE ATHLETIC's Stark & Rosenthal prior to today's news wrote, "Unlike most Sunday afternoon baseball games, the big question wasn't: What happened? The big question was: Why did they play at all?" Sources said that the positive tests among Marlins players were "not enough for either Major League Baseball or the club itself to give serious consideration to postponing this game." Other sources said that the league had "done full contact tracing following the first positive test, tested all remaining Marlins players and based the decision not to intervene in part on the fact that no other players tested positive or reported symptoms" (THEATHLETIC.com, 7/26).
MANFRED'S BIG TEST: ESPN's Passan said this is the "sort of outbreak that baseball was afraid of," and what happens now is "anyone’s best guess." The "further fallout today and in the coming days is going to be awfully interesting to see, to see really the viability of the 2020 Major League Baseball season and how baseball or if baseball continues to be played.” ESPN’s Jessica Mendoza: “This is the No. 1 challenge that Rob Manfred will face in his entire career as commissioner because of how bad they want to put baseball on the field, and yet you have a team that’s already shown us how quickly and how serious this can get” (“Get Up,” ESPN, 7/27). ESPN's Tim Kurkjian said, “It would be stupid, it would be irresponsible to try to finish this if it’s all going in the wrong direction. If we have a bunch more days like yesterday, I think they’re going to have to say this is not worth it" ("Golic & Wingo," ESPN Radio, 7/27).
FIRST BIG TEST: USA TODAY's Gabe Lacques writes just four days into its attempt to play 60 games, there "may be cracks in the construct" of MLB's pandemic plan (USA TODAY, 7/27). In N.Y., Joel Sherman writes under the header, "Marlins’ Coronavirus Crisis Poses Serious MLB Dilemma." Sherman: "What is the critical mass of absences that would move MLB to cancel a game -- or more?" The sport is "used to dealing with player loss," but "what the Marlins are enduring is unfamiliar" (N.Y. POST, 7/27).
FROM NFL'S PERSPECTIVE: NFL VP/Communications Brian McCarthy has said that the NFL, like other leagues, will be watching other leagues to inform its activities. McCarthy today said, "Since the beginning of the pandemic, we have been closely monitoring all developments and have been in dialog with sports leagues and medical officials around the world. Our comprehensive policies and protocols reflect our learnings. We continue to adapt and modify our policies as necessary in conjunction with the NFLPA" (Ben Fischer, THE DAILY).
