The 2020 MLB season is finally slated to start in less than a month after it was suspended back in March due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
The hope is that each team will play 60 regular-season games before a full playoff slate. Unfortunately, players around the baseball world continue to test positive for the virus.
Multiple Seattle Mariners players have tested positive for COVID-19
Mariners general manager Jerry Dipoto announced via a Zoom meeting with reporters on Wednesday that multiple players have tested positive for the virus.
“Right now they’re asymptomatic. They feel great,” the front office head said, via Greg Johns of MLB.com. “But we are aware that they’re positive, and obviously they’ll not be in the environment when we open up until we’ve determined whether, A) they’re part of the roster group and B) they’re healthy enough to be a part of that.”
Like the rest of the league, the Mariners are expected to report for spring training 2.0 next week. Obviously, these unnamed players will not be a part of that.
It’s also the continuation of a troubling trend around the baseball world.
Multiple MLB teams impacted by COVID-19 outbreak
Recently, it was noted that Rockies star Charlie Blackmon was one of three players on the team to test positive for the virus. This comes on the heels of breakouts within the Toronto Blue Jays and Philadelphia Phillies organizations.
MLB does have a plan in place to play the season amid what appears to be a growing pandemic in the United States. Whether that remains a likelihood depends heavily on the COVID-19 virus itself. For now, these are some troubling trends.