Latest On Marlins Outbreak And Its Ripple Effects
The most recent wave of COVID-19 tests among the Marlins produced another positive player, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reports (via Twitter). That brings the club’s total to an incredible 16 of the 33 players who traveled to Philadelphia for this past weekend’s series (the 30 on the roster plus a three-man taxi squad). The Marlins have also had two staff members test positive. Over at their alternate camp, every player tested negative on Tuesday, Craig Mish of SportsGrid reports (Twitter link).
The full list of Marlins players to have tested positive isn’t known, although MLB Network’s Jon Heyman added this morning that right-hander Sandy Alcantara is among the list. Speaking more generally, Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald tweets that the Marlins’ pitching staff has been hit particularly hard by this outbreak. As such, it’s not surprising to see that Miami has already claimed a trio of pitchers off waivers: Mike Morin, Justin Shafer and Josh D, Smith (not to be confused with Josh A. Smith, who is also with the Marlins as a non-roster player in alternate camp). Further additions for the Marlins seem quite likely.
For now, the Marlins remain in Philadelphia and are not yet certain when they’ll travel back to Florida, Jackson tweets. The hope is that they’ll be able to do so by Friday, but that situation remains fluid. As of right now, the Marlins aren’t slated to play again until next week, when they’re scheduled to host the Phillies, of all teams.
As for the Phillies, their entire roster and staff tested negative for a second consecutive day, per ESPN’s Jeff Passan (Twitter link). In fact, Jared Diamond of the Wall Street Journal tweets that outside of yesterday’s Marlins positive, there wasn’t a positive test with any of the 29 other teams. That’s certainly welcome news, although the fact that new positives are still arising with the Marlins is problematic.
The Phillies, Rosenthal tweets, won’t play on Friday as had been previously expected but will instead play the Blue Jays in a Saturday doubleheader and a third game Sunday. The extra day gives the league a bit more time to take caution and hopefully ensure that none of the Phillies players or staff members were infected in last weekend’s series. It’s not known what would happen if the Phillies had a positive test (or tests) between now and Saturday, but they’ll continue to be tested daily in the interim.
Marlins To Sign Logan Forsythe
The Marlins have agreed to a deal with free-agent infielder Logan Forsythe, reports Craig Mish of SportsGrid (Twitter link). The PSI Sports Management client was granted his release by the Phillies late in Summer Camp after being informed that he wouldn’t crack the Opening Day roster.
Forsythe, 33, becomes the fourth new addition for the Marlins since half the team’s 30-man roster tested positive for Covid-19 in MLB’s first outbreak. Miami has also claimed right-handers Mike Morin and Justin Shafer and lefty Josh D. Smith off waivers. Their season is currently “paused” until at least next Monday.
The full list of Marlins players who have tested positive isn’t (and may not become) known, but the versatile Forsythe can help them cover at numerous positions. He’s spent the bulk of his career playing second base, but Forsythe also has experience at third base (979 innings), first base (496), shortstop (220) and in the outfield corners (99).
Forsythe spent most of the 2019 season with the Rangers and struggled to a .227/.325/.353 slash in 367 plate appearances. He was a productive everyday bat for the Rays back in 2015-16, but Forsythe has bounced around the league a bit since that time. In all, he’s a .246/.327/.370 hitter in 3502 MLB plate appearances — including a .259/.339/.423 slash in 1164 plate appearances against left-handed pitching.
MLB Announces Scheduling Changes Following Marlins Outbreak
Major League Baseball has formally announced a series of alterations to the upcoming schedule in the wake of the Marlins’ Covid-19 outbreak. The changes are as follows:
- All Marlins games are postponed through Sunday. As a result, the Marlins aren’t expected to play until next Monday.
- The remainder of this week’s Phillies-vs.-Yankees games have been postponed. As a result, the Phillies aren’t expected to play until Friday.
- The Yankees and Orioles are now scheduled to play at Camden Yards on Wednesday and Thursday.
- Additional scheduling alterations for the week of Aug. 3 will be announced by the league later this week.
Those alterations seemingly leave the Nationals without an opponent this coming weekend, as had been recently reported to be the case by Joel Sherman of the New York Post. Major League Baseball concluded its press release with the following statement:
The difficult circumstances of one Club reinforce the vital need to be diligent with the protocols in all ways, both on and off the field. We will continue to bolster our protocols and make any necessary adjustments. The realities of the virus still loom large, and we must operate with that in mind every day. We are confident that Clubs and players will act appropriately, for themselves and for others, and the data provides reason to believe that the protocols can work effectively.
Notably, the release doesn’t address the bizarre scene on Sunday that saw Marlins players and field staff make the final call on playing — rather than a league official or health expert — even as positive tests piled up. Both shortstop Miguel Rojas and manager Don Mattingly said after the game that the team never gave strong consideration to calling off the game. It’s rather remarkable that the decision on whether to play that day fell the field level in the first place, however. Whether any alterations to that decision process will be implemented moving forward remains unclear.
MLB’s press release indicates that the other 29 teams have not had any new positive tests among on-field personnel since July 24. That would seem to clash with the Reds’ July 25 announcement that Matt Davidson has been placed on the IL following a positive Covid-19 test, though that test may have technically been conducted prior to the 24th. There have been several other players placed on the IL without a reason given, although that doesn’t ensure any have had a positive test. Teams are permitted to place players on the Covid-19 IL if they show symptoms or are exposed to someone known to have tested positive.
Marlins’ Season “Paused” As MLB Plots Scheduling Modifications
1:45pm: In addition to the Phillies being paused through Friday and the Marlins being paused until Monday, the Orioles and Yankees are now indeed likely to play one another on Wednesday and Thursday, Sherman tweets. The Nationals, meanwhile, won’t have a game at all this weekend, since they’d been slated to play the Marlins.
1:26pm: The current plan is for the Marlins to be held out from playing until “at least” next Monday, per Joel Sherman of the New York Post (Twitter link). Incorporating doubleheaders and making use of some off-days could help to make up ground in the schedule, although with only a week’s worth of off-days worked into the existing schedule, there are some potential pitfalls with that approach as well.
12:58pm: The Phillies are expected to resume action against the Blue Jays on Friday, Bob Brookover of the Philadelphia Inquirer tweets.
12:52pm: The Marlins’ 2020 campaign has been “paused,” according to Craig Mish of Sports Grid (Twitter link). That development is part of an apparent effort on the part of Major League Baseball to tweak its schedule to account for the breakout of COVID-19 cases within the Miami organization.
With the Phillies also sidelined, at least for the short term, the league is left with two teams out of action. It’s considering a plan to match up those two organizations’ previously scheduled opponents — the Yankees and Orioles — in order to keep logging as many games as possible, per Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic (Twitter link).
While the Philadelphia organization doesn’t have any new positive tests to worry about, it recently took the field against the Marlins. The Phils will also be held back for at least some time as a result, Joel Sherman of the New York Post reports (Twitter links).
The idea, it seems, would be to get the Marlins and Phillies caught up on total contests later in the season. If they don’t quite make it to 60 total games, postseason qualification could still be determined by winning percentage. It isn’t clear exactly what standards the league will apply to determine when to resume action for these teams.
This on-the-fly scheduling construction is obviously fraught with difficulty. Many problems could end up being kicked down the road, particularly if the Marlins have further difficulties or the breakout turns out to have expanded to other organizations.
Marlins Claim Mike Morin
The Marlins have claimed righty Mike Morin from the Brewers, Jon Heyman of MLB Network reports on Twitter. The Miami organization is continuing to gather big league-capable players amidst a coronavirus-driven roster reshuffling.
Morin, 29, split the 2019 campaign between Minnesota and Philadelphia, logging a combined 4.62 ERA with a 26-to-10 K/BB ratio in 50 2/3 frames. Morin punched out 95 hitters in his first 94 MLB frames from 2014-15 but has since seen his strikeout numbers plummet. He made the Brewers’ Opening Day roster but was quickly jettisoned when the Brewers welcomed southpaw Eric Lauer back from the Covid-19 injured list. Morin has had multiple effective seasons but has struggled to find consistency at the MLB level. He’ll bring 224 innings of MLB experience, a 4.65 ERA and a much better 3.60 FIP to a Marlins bullpen that is undergoing a rapid reconstruction following the team’s outbreak.
Four Additional Marlins Players Test Positive For COVID-19
12:21pm: One of the players that has tested positive is shortstop Miguel Rojas, per Jon Heyman of MLB Network (via Twitter).
9:06am: Four additional Marlins players have tested positive for COVID-19, according to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic (Twitter link). Specific player identities are not known. That appears to bring the team’s total to 15 infected players.
Given the sheer numbers of absent players, it’s fair to wonder at this point just how the Miami organization is going to fill out an active roster for the foreseeable future. The coronavirus injured list will help, but managing 40-man roster and 60-man player pool regulations while bringing in plausible major leaguers will be quite the challenge.
Quite beyond the logistics, competitive considerations, and technical baseball rules, it’s fair to question whether there’s a morally defensible means by which the Marlins can field a team at this time. Given the lag between infection and identification via testing, it’s impossible to know for sure whether any other members of the active roster (and other members of the organization) have active infections.
Any further baseball activity in the coming days would pose a clear risk of further spread within the organization, including to newly acquired or activated players, as well as to opposing teams and umpires. That’s not just a logistical nightmare for the staging of the 2020 season, it’s a potential health calamity for any number of people associated with the game.
This is a developing story …
Nationals Vote Against Traveling To Miami
The Nationals held a team vote on the club’s scheduled upcoming trip to play the coronavirus-stricken Marlins in Miami, per Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic (via Twitter). The “vast majority” of players oppose boarding the flight.
This was more of a straw poll than a binding vote, as Major League Baseball possesses decisionmaking authority on scheduling. But the fact it was held at all represents a message sent upstairs by the defending World Series champs.
There are several possible issues with the weekend series. Traveling to and from Miami is its own problem, given the local covid outbreak there. And taking the field against the Marlins is a concern regardless of the location, as the team has now registered 15 positive tests among active-roster players.
How the league handles this matter could well decide whether the 2020 season regains its footing. Over the weekend, the Marlins inexplicably took the field against the Phillies after multiple positive tests, evidently based solely upon the collective sentiment within the Miami clubhouse. Surely, Major League Baseball will look to gain control over the process — and, to some extent, the outcomes — by proactively determining the best course of action as test results are received.
Pitching Notes: Strasburg, Smith, Teheran, Fulmer, Marlins
Nationals right-hander Stephen Strasburg missed his scheduled start Saturday on account of nerve irritation in his pitching hand, but he said at the time he wasn’t “extremely concerned” about it. Manager Dave Martinez issued another update on Strasburg on Monday, saying last year’s World Series MVP threw lightly, felt better and had less tingling in his hand, Jesse Dougherty of the Washington Post tweets. It’s still unclear when Strasburg will debut this season, though. Having started 1-3 during a 60-game season, the Nats need him back sooner than later.
- In encouraging news for the Braves, left-handed closer Will Smith is no longer dealing with COVID-19 symptoms and hopes to be closing in on a return, Jon Heyman of MLB Network tweets. Smith has been down since July 4 because of the coronavirus; if he is able to pitch this year, the hope is that he’ll be a major part of Atlanta’s late-game setup. That’s what the team was banking on when it signed Smith to a three-year, $40MM contract in free agency last winter. Smith earned that payday on the heels of several strong seasons with the Royals, Brewers and Giants.
- Speaking of Atlanta, one of its former hurlers – Angels righty Julio Teheran – continues to progress toward a 2020 debut, Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic relays. Teheran, who’s recovering from his own coronavirus diagnosis, is slated to throw three innings and 55 pitches in Long Beach, Calif., on Tuesday, per pitching coach Mickey Callaway. If all goes well then, Teheran could join the Angels’ rotation. The team signed Teheran, 29, to a one-year, $9MM guarantee over the winter after a successful run in Atlanta from 2011-19.
- The Tigers plan to use righty Michael Fulmer as an opener all year and are unlikely to let him go five to six innings in any of his appearances, pitching coach Rick Anderson revealed (via Cody Stavenhagen of The Athletic). Fulmer’s a former AL Rookie of the Year winner who topped out at 164 2/3 frames in his second season in 2017, but it’s understandable that the Tigers are taking a cautious approach with him. After all, the 27-year-old is just returning from the Tommy John surgery he underwent in March 2019. He took the mound Monday for the first time since September 2018 and surrendered four earned runs on five hits in 2 2/3 innings during a blowout loss to the Royals.
- The coronavirus has deprived the Marlins of a slew of players, leaving them to scramble for replacements, but righty prospect Edward Cabrera is not a candidate for their roster as of now, Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald reports. Cabrera is not dealing with the virus, fortunately, but “a minor arm issue” that has stopped him from throwing over the past week, Jackson writes. The 22-year-old was tremendous last season between High-A and Double-A, combining for a stingy 2.23 ERA with 10.8 K/9 and 2.9 BB/9 in 96 2/3 innings, and is widely regarded as a top 100 prospect.
Rob Manfred On MLB’s Latest Coronavirus Issues
COVID-19 has thrown a wrench into Major League Baseball’s plans throughout the past few months, and Monday was no different. The Marlins-Orioles and Yankees-Phillies games were both postponed because of the outbreak affecting the Miami club, which has seen 11 of the 33 players on its 30-man roster and three-man taxi squad test positive. The Marlins-O’s matchup on Tuesday will also be pushed back as a result, but commissioner Rob Manfred expressed confidence Monday that the 60-game season will still be able to take place.
“We think we can keep people safe and continue to play,” Manfred said (per Bryan Hoch of MLB.com and Bill Shakin of the Los Angeles Times), adding that the league hasn’t seriously considering shutting down the season at this point. For MLB to do that, it would require one of its teams “losing a number of players that rendered it completely non-competitive,” Manfred stated.
Whether the Marlins are “non-competitive” in their current state isn’t fully clear, as the identities of their players who tested positive aren’t known right now. They certainly appear to be at a disadvantage, though. The Fish were scheduled to play the Orioles in Miami, but the two could instead square off in Baltimore on Wednesday if the Marlins’ coronavirus tests yield the desired results, according to Manfred (via Shaikin). Manfred expects that the latest results from Miami and Philadelphia (which hosted the Marlins over the weekend) will come in Monday night, and the league will issue an update Tuesday, Hoch tweets.
It’s hard to call this anything but a terrible outcome for MLB, whose season just kicked off and looks less certain than ever to finish, but Manfred’s taking an optimistic approach for the time being. He insisted (via Jordan McPherson of the Miami Herald) that this is not “a nightmare situation” for the sport.
Marlins Claim Josh Smith From Reds
The Marlins have claimed a second hurler from the Reds, per a team announcement. Southpaw Josh D. Smith will also go to Miami via waiver claim, joining Justin Shafer.
Smith, 30, appeared briefly last year with the Marlins and Indians. He’s now the second hurler by the same name in the Miami organization.
This is one of several roster moves the Marlins are working through. The club is in the midst of an extremely worrying COVID-19 outbreak, with at least 11 players sidelined after positive tests.