Marlins/Orioles game canceled after more Marlins test positive

The Miami Marlins, who had four players who had tested positive for COVID-19 as of yesterday, have had an additional eight players and two coaches test positive, per Jeff Passan on Twitter. The Marlins are remaining in Philadelphia, where they played this weekend, for the time being, and their home opener tonight against the Baltimore Orioles has been canceled.

This is a scenario that I think was anticipated as being a possibility in sort of an abstract way when starting up the season was discussed, but having it occur at the very beginning of the season is quite sobering, and is, quite reasonably, going to raise questions about the feasibility of trying to play in the midst of the pandemic. MLB provided for roster contingencies in the event of an “outbreak,” but the bigger issue right now is not managing the roster, but how to ensure the health of the players and staffers, and how to keep this from spreading to anyone else.

This will, I am sure, force MLB and the MLBPA to re-evaluate protocols and the viability of playing this season, and I expect we will have more news stemming from this over the next couple of days.