Since the coronavirus pandemic began affecting American sports, Major League Baseball has attempted to take every precaution possible to avoid it from spreading.
The first decision MLB made was to restrict clubhouse access to only players and essential personnel. They then suspend the rest of Spring Training and the first two weeks of the regular season, although it will likely end up being longer than that.
MLB has since advised teams to send players home after the original plan was for many to remain in Arizona and Florida to continue training in preparation of the 2020 season.
For players that still plan to remain at their respective Spring Training facilities, MLB sent out a memo to no longer hold group workouts and abide by ‘social distancing’ guidelines.
But as quickly as coronavirus is spreading, that may not be enough to stop players from contracting it. According to Jeff Passan of ESPN, a New York Yankees Minor League player has tested positive for COVID-19, making him the first known player to do so:
The Yankees player who tested positive for coronavirus was only on the minor league side of the team's facility in Tampa. Still, as we're learning about coronavirus' ability to spread, that distance alone does not necessarily protect those who are nearby from contracting it.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) March 15, 2020
The New York Yankees have told all their minor league players that they should quarantine for two weeks, sources told ESPN. The team will deliver food to the players in their hotel rooms.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) March 15, 2020
It will be interesting to see if this first positive test forces MLB to take even more drastic measures than they already have.
Los Angeles Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman recently stated none of their players are currently sick or have been tested for coronavirus. Once tests become more available, it may make sense to get everyone screened if the plan is to continue to workout at Camelback Ranch or Dodger Stadium.
While the hope is that the country can get everything under control and MLB can start its season sooner rather than later, it does not appear that will end up being the case.
A Yankees player testing positive for coronavirus is likely only the start of what is to come throughout the league, as has been the case in other leagues like the NBA, which has three confirmed positives tests at this time.
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