DUNEDIN, FLORIDA – FEBRUARY 27: MLB Logo on the batting mat during the spring training game between the Toronto Blue Jays and the Minnesota Twins at TD Ballpark on February 27, 2020 in Dunedin, Florida. (Photo by Mark Brown/Getty Images)
The Associated Press claims to possess a letter containing the unfortunate evidence.
Let it be known that Monday, the 15th day of June, 2020, marked a new low in an MLB offseason that may as well have already been at rock bottom. With commissioner Rob Manfred now casting doubt on whether or not a season can be played at all this year and the MLBPA reacting with reckless abandon, it was hard to imagine how things could possibly get worse.
Well, they did get worse. Per the AP’s Jonathan Lemire, an unspecified number of MLB players and staff members have tested positive for COVID-19.
A number of Major League Baseball players and staff have reportedly tested positive for the novel coronavirus.
What next? A plague of locusts? A new Star Wars anthology film about Jar Jar Binks? Mike Trout quitting the league to begin a Christian rock career?
At this point, we sadly can’t rule out any of these things happening. It’s just been that kind of day for the MLB.
One of the most pressing items of concern for any 2020 season plan is the procedure by which players and essential staff will be routinely tested for COVID-19, as well as just what happens when even a single positive test emerges. The league is clearly being tested with respect to health and safety even now; if they can’t respond efficiently and effectively, it won’t matter what the players and owners are able to decide about possible season length and salary adjustments.
Folks, it’s only Monday. This week could turn out to be the tipping point that signals whether or not it’s possible to play even a modest knockoff version of an MLB season in 2020. And though pessimism doesn’t help matters, it’s increasingly difficult to imagine the players and owners pulling a needle out of a haystack given these latest colossal setbacks.