Reds player tests positive for COVID-19, next two games against Pirates postponed
The coronavirus has breached an MLB clubhouse yet again, this time with an unnamed Cincinnati Reds player according to The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal.
News of the positive test broke shortly after the Reds defeated the Pittsburgh Pirates on Friday night. The development sparked concerns that players from teams may have been exposed. Not wanting to take any chances after outbreaks impacted the Miami Marlins and St. Louis Cardinals, MLB has postponed the Reds-Pirates games scheduled for Saturday evening and Sunday afternoon.
Here in the league’s official statement:
Following a positive test for COVID-19 by a Cincinnati Reds player, tonight’s scheduled game, as well as tomorrow afternoon’s contest, between the Reds and Pittsburgh Pirates at Great American Ball Park have been postponed to allow for additional testing and to complete the contact tracing process. Major League Baseball will continue to provide updates as they become available.
This represents a case of déjà vu for the Pirates, who had an entire three-game series against the St. Louis Cardinals postponed earlier this week.
Two unnamed Reds players had previously tested positive during summer camp, though, as The Athletic accounts, no player on the team has had a confirmed positive test during the season.
Infielder Matt Davidson tested positive after playing the team’s season opener, but subsequent tests came back negative. Mike Moustakas, Joey Votto and Nick Senzel have also each previously reported systems, but never tested positive.
COVID-19 has wreaked havoc with MLB schedules
The news comes just as MLB was finally getting through its last scheduling hold-up with the Cardinals, which saw several players and staff members test positive for the virus.
To date, the Cardinals have played only five of their initially scheduled 60 games. To remedy that, MLB announced an aggressive set of scheduling tweaks for the Cardinals earlier on Friday. The tweaks added up to at least 53 games in 45 days for the Cardinals, with a whopping 10 scheduled doubleheaders in the month-and-a-half span.
The Miami Marlins and Philadelphia Phillies are also facing daunting schedules after outbreaks. If more Reds players test positive for the virus, the team could be facing a similar fate as it tries to stay afloat in the National League playoff race.
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