The Miami Marlins postponed their flight back to Florida Sunday night after their three-game series finale against the Phillies. According to CBC Canada, the team had decided to wait and travel on Monday after undergoing coronavirus testing.
It has been learned that the Marlins reportedly have had at least 14 individuals test positive since last week. That group includes catcher Jorge Alfaro, outfielders Garrett Cooper and Harold Ramirez, and pitcher Jose Urena, whose positive test forced him to be scratched from his Sunday start, reports CBS Sports.
The New York Yankees were to begin a three-game series against the Philadelphia Phillies Monday night at Citizens Bank Park, but the Yankees would have been using the same clubhouse the Marlins used. For this reason, the Yankees-Phillies game was postponed about seven hours before the scheduled first pitch by Major League Baseball.
After Sunday’s game, Marlins manager Don Mattingly said the members of the team who tested positive were quarantined in Philadelphia and that the team’s decision to postpone their flight was made with family members in mind.
“We were more comfortable flying as a group later,” said Mattingly. “We’re talking about these guys travelling back home to their families and their kids, and it’s the reason we want to be safe.”
Because of the ongoing health problems with the Marlins, the team’s home opener scheduled for Monday night against the Baltimore Orioles, has also been postponed.
The Phillies team, who obviously had to spend time around numerous individuals who were infected, is also self-quarantining. It’s unclear how long the Phillies will ask their staff to isolate — ostensibly they will be tested by the team repeatedly over the coming days.
Right now, the Marlins’ health conditions are raising doubts over how long the MLB season, already shortened, is going to last. In Cincinnati, Reds second baseman Mike Moustakas and center fielder Nick Senzel felt sick Sunday, a day after a teammate went on the injured list because he tested positive for COVID-19.
