Miami Marlins Cancel Home Opener Due To COVID-19 Outbreak

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Well, that didn’t take long.

The Miami Marlins’ home opener on Monday has been canceled due to a COVID-19 outbreak in the clubhouse. At least eight Marlins players and two coaches tested positive for the virus, prompting Miami (2-1) to cancel its game with the Baltimore Orioles (2-1). The Marlins now have at least 14 cases within the organization.

“This is going to be a challenge, and there’s no doubt about it,” MLB Network host Adnan Virk said on The DA Show. “Rob Manfred and the commissioner’s office does have the opportunity to move the team if they like for the duration of the season. If they feel like Florida is too risky, they can move them to another state or find another facility. But what I find telling is Don Mattingly said, ‘No, we’re most comfortable in Miami. I know people think the numbers here are spiking, and they are, but we actually don’t feel safer than when we were at home.’ The thought is maybe some of those guys . . . contracted the virus when they went to Atlanta [for spring training]. As we know, Georgia is another hot spot right now. For them, the fear is more about travel.”

Four Marlins players—catcher Jorge Alfaro, outfielders Garrett Cooper and Harold Ramirez, and pitcher Jose Urena—tested positive for COVID-19 during the team’s season-opening series in Philadelphia. The Yankees/Phillies game, slated for Monday in Philadelphia, has also been postponed.

“The last thing you want is a rash judgment,” Virk said. “The last thing you want is to be hasty. If one game has to get canceled out of 60 . . . that’s fine. Don’t be hysterical about it. Let’s focus on what we can do and take it step-by-step. Try to make up the game later on for the Marlins. Maybe it doesn’t get made up. Figure out what happened to these guys. Contract tracing is critical. But you’re right: four days in, and already there’s the one big red flag right away [with] the Marlins.”

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