2 Phillies Staffers Test Positive, All Stadium Activity Canceled

PHILADELPHIA, PA — All activity at Citizens Bank Park has been canceled "until further notice" after a coach and a clubhouse staff member both tested positive for coronavirus, the team announced early Thursday. The latest media reports also indicate that the planned weekend series against the Toronto Blue Jays has now been postponed, casting a pall over the remainder of the Phillies season.

No Phillies players tested positive. The comprehensive testing was initiated and the Phillies season put on hold after it was discovered that 19 members of the visiting Miami Marlins, including 18 players, had coronavirus. The Marlins played the Phillies in the season opener last weekend.

The two new positive tests are a Phillies coach and a Phillies home clubhouse staffer. The individuals were not identified by the team.

Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet Canada first reported that he'd been told by Blue Jay manager Charlie Montoyo of the postponement of this weekend's series.

The Phillies' four games against the Yankees this week were already postponed as a result of the team's contact with the Marlins. They have not played since Sunday. The postponement of another series could put the Phillies' season in jeopardy and cast serious doubts of the tenability of the abbreviated Major League Baseball season itself.

In order to play the remaining 57 games on their schedule, the Phillies will not be able to have a single off day until the end of the season. They could create off-days by playing double-headers, but that plan could become impractical if they're forced to reschedule even a few more games.

>>The Phillies Will Not Play For Several Days Amid COVID Outbreak

The season is only 60 games, and and there are just over two months available in which to fit in those 60 games. While the league has said it will consider letting teams play below the total number of 60 and base playoff seeding on winning percentage instead, it seems doubtful the league would be comfortable with a team not being able to make up a significant number of games.

For now, though, the latest news means that the Phillies' Thursday workouts, which had been scheduled to take place at Citizens Bank Park, will not take place.

The new positive tests cast an even darker light on revelations, originally reported by the Philadelphia Inquirer earlier this week, that the Marlins players knew about the positives before they became public, and voted on a group text to play anyway.