The Marlins have received yet another positive Covid-19 test among their players, bringing the total to an alarming 18 cases, Daniel Alvarez Montes of El ExtraBase reports (via Twitter). The Marlins also have two positive cases on their coaching/training staff, bringing the total to 20 members of the team’s traveling party.
In better news for the Marlins, veteran outfielder Matt Joyce, who missed all of Summer Camp, has tested negative and been cleared to join the team, per SportsGrid’s Craig Mish (Twitter link). To be clear, Joyce was not counted among the 18 positive Marlins cases that have emerged since Opening Day.
Miami’s entire alternate training site reportedly tested negatively recently, and they’ve added several new players via waivers and free agency as they look to offset the enormous toll that the Covid-19 outbreak has taken on their team. It’s troubling, though, that players continue to test positive even though it’s now been five days since the team completed its final game of the opening series against the Phillies. Presently, Miami is slated to resume play early next week, but it’s not clear if the continual positive tests will impact that.
Certainly, the risk of further spreading Covid-19 infections throughout the league is the primary concern, but there’s also the matter of the Marlins being able to field a Major League roster whenever they do seek to return to the field. The team has additional players in reserve at its alternate training site, but of the group that opened the season there, only four had Major League experience (Ryan Lavarnway, Travis Snider, Jordan Yamamoto and Josh A. Smith).
The Marlins have since claimed Mike Morin, Justin Shafer and Josh D. Smith off waivers in addition to signing Logan Forsythe and Pat Venditte. Their additions are crucial, as the Marlins opted to take a very young group to alternate camp for development purposes. A dozen players there are 22 years old or younger — many of them not particularly close to MLB ready. Joyce will presumably need some time to ramp up at their alternate site, but he’ll give the Fish a much-needed option in the relatively near future.
Commissioner Rob Manfred said earlier this week that the Marlins outbreak does not qualify as a “nightmare” scenario, although at that point, there were 11 known positives on the roster as opposed to the current 18. And while the positive tests since Opening Day had been confined to the Marlins until this morning, the Cardinals have now reportedly had a pair of players test positive as well, causing their scheduled game in Milwaukee to be postponed.
at least today is net neutral
What MLB should have done is follow the NBA. Have to Bubble sites AZ and FL. No kne can leave etc. Is obvious these players are going out somewhere and socializing.
Union did not agree. NBA was ok because minimum eight games
Tell that to the players and their association. Guys like Trout and Bryant made it clear the bubble wasn’t happening because of pregnant wives. Plus MLB was way more players and a longer time.
And the sheer amount of space a baseball field requires as opposed to a basketball court. Tough to find a place with enough MLB ready facilities available to accommodate a bubble (ask the Blue Jays).
bingo. that’s the real issue.
Bush1. The NBA allowed a player to leave to go to his father’s funeral.
You don’t think they would have made an exception?
…and then he goes to a strip club LOL!
Checks weather report in Arizona.
116 degrees. Yeah, no. That was never happening.
My idea is east plays in DC and Baltimore (1hr drive apart) central plays in Chicago (20 mins between parks) West plays in LA and Anaheim (45 mins apart)
Manfred says it’s not a nightmare. Does it take someone dying to become a nightmare?
At this point one has to wonder if it’ll take someone becoming seriously ill and hospitalized for them to cancel the season. Remember when the nba shut down for months with relatively few positive tests? Now half a team is sick and they are pushing on
Losing money – you can always find more people to play for the various consortia of Industrialists and Hedge Funds running the teams.
How bout 3-5% of league all sick at once or a higher number than that?? It’s been less than 1% the whole season w nearly everyone showing no or minor symptoms and possibly everyone in that category.
Why cancel the season bc of that ??
Why come to a baseball site and call for the cancellation of the season when u can’t name one person who’s critically ill when less than a 1/2% of entire league is sick ??
Should they have called the season when the kid fell from stands or the other got hit by ball ? Taking chances is part of life. Just like when you take a chance with your fear mongering comments- hoping you don’t get roasted.
You’re an absolute moron.
20 out of 30 (or 33) sounds like a nightmare to me!
In fairness, that was early in the Marlins saga. It has gotten much worse since Manfred spoke.
If you are objecting that he hasn’t spoken publicly about the issue since the first couple of days, that’s fair.
My thoughts exactly. I mentioned on another platform that last week after Miami announced the 4 positive case that an article on the Athletic that interviewed two experts in infectious diseases who said that 3-4 people should’ve been considered an outbreak and that playing the game against the Phillies was something to the effect of “beyond stupid.”
With the Cardinals this morning I don’t really see how they will get this season complete. Hopefully it’s not more than the two positives, and also that no Philly players come down with it.
IMO, starting the season without a bubble was stupid. Manfred should’ve said “no bubble, no season” had he done that, we may not be in the situation we are in now.
What bubble is big enough to house every team, there back up team and all their personnel ? There isn’t one and that’s why it was never on the table.
Y’all skew numbers to fit the narrative you choose to believe and then disregard all other info regardless of source or how relevant it could be. Then try to hurl insults at people to silence them that don’t go along with your storyline.
Stay classy
I can’t wait to see the Marlins five-game win streak with scrubs. I love baseball.
Hell… I’m rooting for them to win it all vs. the Blue Jays in the WS.
When does the Tribal Council meet?
Time to vote the Marlins off the island before they infect us all.
Wish them into the cornfield!!!!
Shun!! Shun!! Shun!!
Shun Yamaguchi?
Math says if 20 of them have it, 1 will probably die from it. That’s insane! So unsafe! I’m not wanting a death, but math is math!
I’m all for calling this season off, but in all fairness, young athletes are NOT in the category where 1 out of 20 die. Mortality rates are heavily concentrated in the old and infirm. Not saying it’s impossible, but it’s also not 1 in 20 for this demographic.
not to say its not dangerous or anything in general, but it really isnt that simple. 1/20 might be a general mortality rate, but MLB players arent a representitive sample of the general population.
The COVID-19 death rate for healthy males 25-35 old year old males is 5%, eh?
COVID-19 can cause long term damage to vital organs in addition to making a healthy person quite ill for a few weeks. The lungs, heart, brain, central nervous system and kidneys are all vulnerable. So while a positive test may not be an immediate death sentence for an otherwise healthy player, it can potentially shorten a promising career or even their life down the road.
There’s no vaccine yet and not much in the way of natural immunity either.
I saw a SnapChat that mentioned a Tweet that referenced a Zoom call where someone shared a Facebook post that linked a YouTube video that said the COVID-19 mortality rate is 87%.
We’ll, at least that’s what my cousin’s friend’s neighbor’s sister-in-law heard.
But you also need to take into consideration that most of the deaths are of those who are older or who have underlying health conditions. I’m young (33) but have massive underlying health conditions which make it likely that would die if I contracted the virus. My friend on the other hand, same age without underlying health conditions, is less likely to die if he contracted the virus.
You can’t just throw out 1/20 as a blanket statement. It is a bit more nuanced than that. If it were 1/20 out of the entire propulsion regardless of age or health conditions, then I don’t think any sport would be trying to either have a season or complete their seasons.
Marlins chose to have alternate players not mlb ready. Having only 4 mlb players at their alternate site was unacceptable. They did not properly prepare for a scenario that had a high probability of occurring. That said, hoping for a speedy recovery to everyone affected.
Marlins been ruining baseball ever since they sold the team to jeter the broke joke
The Marlins have been a mess much longer than that.
Florida, the hot bed of COVID. Can’t imagine why they’d have some positives. But really all the cases they have is ridiculous
Just think, if the marlins didn’t get shut down ther was a possibility that the Orioles might have swept the 4 game series and started 6 and 1. That would of been funny af!
Pat Venditte counts as 2 players, right?
I would love to who was patient zero. I would love even more to know what they did to become patient zero.
Why does that even matter? Even if that person is identified, what do you propose be done?
It really only matters if one of the Marlins who tested positive was in contact with someone outside the organization who was positive, knew that, and failed to follow protocol and disclose it and isolate. Otherwise, there is no value to tracing back. MLB can’t ensure that the country’s testing and tracing is perfect. As long as it isn’t and probably even if it is close to perfect, there will be unavoidable community transmission–from someone in a store, in an elevator, etc.
So how many positions can Logan Forsythe play?
What was preseason over/under on Marlins testing positive?
Positive tests are hardly a nightmare. For one thing 30% are false positives. For another it does not indicate the player is currently infected and it does not indicate if a player is symptomatic. Mortality rates and hospitalization rates for healthy people in this age group is almost zero.
Imagine if we tested everyone for a common cold virus regardless of them having symptoms. The case count would be through the roof
Now it is a serious disease for the elderly and those with comorbidities. So keep these young ones away from them. Send the older coaches and managers home, and older/unhealthy umps and play ball. My god the players played through most of the 1918 spanish flu and that targeted young people.
Marlins approaching herd immunity. Thats the silver lining
Pete, you are a fool.
You are callous, disgusting, and ridiculous. “Young people won’t die, so let them travel around and play.”
In the one study that found a 30% false positive in one specific kind of test, it also found a 20% false NEGATIVE rate.
Do you realize that these traveling young people can still spread the virus?
In what area do you live? I desperately want to avoid you.