The Miami Marlins are coming off a series win to begin the 2020 MLB season. Instead of celebrating on their flight home Sunday night, the team is now postponing their travel plans amid fears they could have a COVID-19 outbreak.
Multiple Marlins’ players tested positive for COVID-19
Before their series finale against the Philadelphia Phillies, Marlins pitcher Jose Urena and two other starters tested positive for COVID-19. The positive cases came just two days after catcher Jorge Alfaro landed on the injured list with the coronavirus.
With four players already quarantined in Philadelphia, the Marlins are postponing their flight home to Miami due to fears that the virus might have spread throughout the clubhouse.
Following Sunday’s win, manager Don Mattingly announced the organization opted to push back its flight home until Monday morning. As a result, the club isn’t expected to make it back to Miami until hours before their game against the Baltimore Orioles.
While the team is exercising some caution, playing tomorrow could put the Orioles at risk of contracting the coronavirus. The club has already seen multiple players miss time with COVID-19 and will now share the field with the Marlins in a four-game series.
MLB continues to press forward with its 2020 season despite the recent spike in positive cases across the sport. It’s particularly concerning given Boston Red Sox pitcher Eduardo Rodriguez now has a heart condition known as myocarditis, inflammation of the heart muscle, which was caused by the virus. Despite it all, it seems the baseball world is determined to keep going.