Coronavirus keeps lurking around the 2020 MLB season and the danger of the season being suspended, at least temporarily, is evident. Such is life scheduling baseball games in times of COVID-19 that a game that still hadn’t been officialized in the calendar, the New York Yankees – Philadelphia Phillies of Monday, has been postponed according to MLB Network’s Jon Heyman.
The Phillies had one coach and one clubhouse staffer test positive in the week, after they played the Miami Marlins over the weekend at Citizens Bank Park. The Marlins, for those who not remember, are currently dealing with 18 positive cases among players, plus two coaches.
The Yankees and Phillies will have to make up for the lost game somewhere along the road, but it is not clear when.
At this point, it is not clear if the season will keep its course next week, although that is the plan as of now.
The Yankees are not the only time with a fluid schedule
To make matters worse, MLB announced that another team, the St. Louis Cardinals, had positive COVID-19 cases. On Saturday morning, several outlets reported that “several” additional members of the organization were positive for the virus, although that was not accurate.
Per Jared Diamond of the Wall Street Journal, only one additional Cardinals player tested positive for COVID-19 on Saturday. This comes after two St. Louis ballplayers tested positive for the disease on Friday.
As a result of the mini-outbreak in St. Louis, Saturday’s game against the Milwaukee Brewers was postponed. No make up date for the game has been provided at the moment.
Meanwhile, a Brewers player opted out of playing the remainder of the season. All-Star center fielder Lorenzo Cain decided not to play anymore due to concerns about the rapid spread of the virus.
The New York Yankees, meanwhile, are playing the Boston Red Sox this weekend. They took Friday’s night opener 5-1 behind a stellar outing from starting pitcher Jordan Montgomery.