The Philadelphia Phillies took another step towards returning to the diamond on Wednesday with their entire 30-man roster and coaching staff testing negative for COVID-19 for the second consecutive day.
More than 72 hours after the Phillies played a Miami Marlins team that has now reported 17 COVID-19 cases, the team received more fortunate news after their latest round of tests.
Philadelphia Phillies test negative for COVID-19
After playing the Marlins on Sunday, the Phillies were forced to postpone their games against the New York Yankees on Monday and Tuesday. While the team now won’t be allowed to return to the field until this weekend, at the earliest, they have seemingly avoided a COVID-19 outbreak.
The Marlins’ decision to play on Sunday despite knowing four players tested positive sent shockwaves through MLB. It forced the cancelation of multiple games on Monday and Tuesday, with the Yankees and Baltimore Orioles eventually flying home.
While the Yankees and Orioles will face off on Wednesday, the Phillies are sidelined until their three-game series against the Toronto Blue Jays. Fortunately, they are now on pace to be cleared to play that series.
The Washington Nationals have also been impacted by the COVID-19 outbreak. Their weekend series against the Marlins was canceled and they will now be off from Friday through Monday.
If the Marlins avoided any further spreading of the coronavirus and can fill out their 30-man roster then receive clearance to play, they would resume action next week against the Phillies.