[NFA] Just four days after beginning a truncated coronavirus-delayed season, Major League Baseball ran into a serious obstacle on Monday with the postponement of two scheduled games due to a COVID-19 outbreak among Miami Marlins players. Freddie Joyner has more.

Less than a week into baseball’s coronavirus-shortened season and it’s already in turmoil.

On Monday, Major League Baseball was forced to postpone games in Miami and Philadelphia after a number of players on the Miami Marlins tested positive for the virus.

The Marlins will not be playing their home opener Monday against the Baltimore Orioles.

The team – instead – will stay put in Philly where members of the Marlins were self-quarantining in place while the league awaits additional test results.

Marlins CEO Derek Jeter acknowledged the tough situation for his team in a statement Monday saying quote…

“After a successful Spring 2.0, we have now experienced challenges once we went on the road and left Miami. Postponing tonight’s home opener was the correct decision to ensure we take a collective pause and try to properly grasp the totality of this situation.”

The Philadelphia Phillies, meanwhile, were scheduled to host the New York Yankees on Monday but that game also was postponed as the Marlins players were recently in their stadium.

According to MLB’s operations manual. team members who test positive must have two negative tests taken at least 24 hours apart before they are allowed to return to team facilities.

Unlike the National Basketball Association – scheduled to resume its season on Thursday – which has assembled its teams in a restricted campus at Disney World in Florida, MLB teams are playing in their usual stadiums, with no fans, and are following a schedule designed to limit travel.

The coronavirus pandemic has wreaked havoc on professional sports worldwide, delaying the start of seasons, pushing the Summer Olympics back by a year, and leading to major questions about health risks for athletes and others going forward.

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