Marlins players reportedly did not follow health and safety protocols during preseason trip to Atlanta

In yet another infuriating development for the 2020 Philadelphia Phillies, a Major League Baseball investigation found that the Miami Marlins were less than perfect when it came to following health and safety protocols on their preseason trip to Atlanta, per Scott Miller of Turner Sports.

At the same time, ESPN reported that Commissioner Rob Manfred warned MLBPA executive director Tony Clark over the phone that the 2020 season could be in jeopardy if baseball does not do a better job at handling the sport’s coronavirus outbreak. This comes after Friday night’s Cardinals-Brewers game was postponed after two Cardinals players tested positive. More than a quarter of the league has seen at least one of their games postponed for COVID-19 related reasons.

The full extent of their activities have not been reported, but according to Miller, hotel bars are among the places Marlins players frequented during their road trip. On Friday, another Marlins player tested positive for the coronavirus, bringing the total number of players to test positive to 18.

Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald reached out to a Marlins spokesperson on Miller’s report and said they are “Unable to comment on this, being that we haven’t received any such information from Major League Baseball.”

Jackson also reported that the 18 Marlins players infected with the virus are currently bussing from their Rittenhouse Square hotel in Philadelphia to Miami. The players who continue to test negative could travel to Baltimore and resume their season as early as Tuesday against the Orioles.

There were also some concerns from the Phillies side during the weekend over just how closely the Marlins were following protocol in the stadium. Matt Gelb of The Athletic reported on Monday that some Phillies were “alarmed all weekend by how the Marlins had appeared to not stagger their arrivals and workouts and how few people in the Marlins dugout were wearing masks.”

As of Friday, the Marlins and Phillies’ seasons are temporarily suspended. No new players and or staff members from the Phillies tested positive Friday, but workouts and activities at Citizens Bank Park remain suspended after a coach and home clubhouse worker tested positive on Thursday.

According to multiple reports, the Phillies are tentatively scheduled to bus to the Bronx to take on the Yankees on Monday and Tuesday and then head back to Philadelphia for another two-game set with the Bronx Bombers on Wednesday and Thursday. MLB has not made that official and of course, all of that could change if more Phillies players and staff members test positive in the coming days.

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