The Miami Marlins series against the defending champion Washington Nationals slated to start Friday has already been postponed due to an outbreak of COVID-19 within Miami’s clubhouse.
Meanwhile, the Philadelphia Phillies and Toronto Blue Jays series has also been postponed. We can now add another series to the list of postponements as Major League Baseball struggles playing a season amid the pandemic.
Cardinals player tests positive, game against Brewers postponed
According to MLB Network’s Jon Heyman, only Friday’s game has been postponed. But it seems likely the entire series will have to be played later in the season. It’s not yet known whether it was a player on the Cardinals or someone else within the organization that tested positive.
This obviously isn’t great news. It means that 20% of the league has had games postponed due to positive COVID-19 tests in the week since the season opened.
MLB changing doubleheader rules to take into account postponements
It was noted earlier this week that the league and Players’ Association are working on a deal that would include two seven-inning games for doubleheaders moving forward on the season. This would enable teams to avoid pushing their pitching staffs too far.
Something has to be done. It’s already a truncated 60-game regular season schedule. Teams only have six off days throughout the season. It’s going to be hard to get these postponed games in.
Either way, Friday morning’s news adds another layer to the issues that comes with playing a season outside of a bubble.