Derek Jeter Releases Statement Regarding Marlins’ COVID-19 Outbreak

The Miami Marlins are dealing with a crisis.

A coronavirus outbreak has spread throughout the Marlins’ clubhouse, with at least 13 members of the team reportedly testing positive for COVID-19 as of Monday afternoon.

The situation prompted the postponement of two games Monday: Miami’s home opener against the Baltimore Orioles at Marlins Park and the Philadelphia Phillies’ game against the New York Yankees at Citizens Bank Park. (The Phillies just hosted a three-game series against the Marlins over the weekend.)

The Marlins since have released the following statement on behalf of CEO Derek Jeter:

The health of our players and staff has been and will continue to be our primary focus as we navigate through these unchartered waters. 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. We have conducted another round of testing for our players and staff, and our team will all remain in Philadelphia pending the results of those tests, which we expect later today. We will provide additional information as soon as it becomes available.

It’s still unclear what impact the Marlins’ outbreak will have on the 2020 Major League Baseball season. MLB Network’s Jon Heyman reported Monday morning there hadn’t been serious discussion about pausing or canceling the season, as the outbreak so far had been confined to one team. But this obviously is a fluid situation.

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