The Major League Baseball schedule remains in chaos as a three-game weekend series between the Toronto Blue Jays at the Philadelphia Phillies has been postponed “out of an abundance of caution,” MLB said Thursday.
The decision came only hours after the Phillies announced that a home clubhouse attendant and Major League coach had tested positive for COVID-19, prompting the cancellation of a Thursday workout and any activity at Citizens Bank Park “until further notice.”
Between the Miami Marlins and the Phillies, 17 games have been postponed through next Thursday because of the coronavirus: 10 for the Marlins and seven for the Phillies. The entire abbreviated schedule only consists of 60 games for each team in 66 days, through Sept. 27. For the Marlins, that’s one-sixth of their schedule.
The Marlins’ season could certainly be in jeopardy, considering the fact that 18 players and three coaches have now tested positive for a disease that is particularly spreading dangerously across the state of Florida.
“I don’t think their season is going to be wiped out,” said a source. “But they’re just going to have to play a lot of doubleheaders.”
That will depend on the health of the infected players and whether the Marlins have enough Major League-ready players to replace them. Plus, there’s a real question what condition the team will be in after being idle and sequestered for nearly two weeks.
The Marlins have been holed up in their Philadelphia hotel since defeating the Phillies Sunday, the day three of their players first tested positive.
“Either you do it right or not, and you’re disciplined or not,” the source added. “The Marlins did it to themselves.”
The Phillies also isolated this week, though none of their players tested positive. They seemed to be unaffected until Thursday’s results were made public.
Next up for the Phillies is the rescheduling of the four games they lost this week against the New York Yankees: Monday and Tuesday at Yankee Stadium, and Wednesday and Thursday at home. The Phillies originally had been scheduled to play the Marlins three times at Marlins Park next week, beginning Tuesday night. For the Marlins, those dates are currently empty.
