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Report: Cardinals' Latest COVID-19 Tests Are 'Not Good;' More Positives Expected
August 2, 2020
The recent COVID-19 testing results for the St. Louis Cardinals are "not good," according to ESPN's Jeff Passan, after the team already postponed its weekend series with the Milwaukee Brewers.
Derrick S. Goold @dgoold#Cardinals took rapid tests this morning, and another scheduled round of tests ... but a big key here is the inconclusive results from Saturday. #Cardinals had FOUR of those. Those four (one player, three staff) would be in addition to the four already confirmed. Update coming. https://t.co/G1LIbYbOQK
MLB temporarily suspended the Miami Marlins' season after the team experienced a COVID-19 outbreak.
The Cardinals are scheduled to resume play Tuesday on the road against the Detroit Tigers. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch's Derrick Goold reported Saturday that traveling to Detroit remains the team's plan.
Goold also shared comments from the team's president of baseball operations, John Mozeliak:
"We feel like we have a fairly good idea on isolation and understand and where this has really evolved to. We're very optimistic we can get back on the field. We feel confident by the time we get to Detroit on Monday that we will have control of this. From the league standpoint, from the Cardinals' standpoint, we feel comfortable moving forward."
Given how the situation is evolving, the fate of the four-game set with the Tigers might be in jeopardy.
In the wake of the Marlins' outbreak, MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred said on MLB Network that it wasn't "in the nightmare category" while defending the league's health and safety protocols.
"We built protocols anticipating that we would have positive tests at some point during the season," Manfred said, via ESPN's Jesse Rogers. "The protocols were built to allow us to play through those positives. We believe the protocols are adequate to keep our players safe."
Since then, the Cardinals and Brewers postponed their series, while the Philadelphia Phillies postponed their weekend games against the Toronto Blue Jays after a coach and clubhouse official tested positive.
Manfred's stance remained the same Saturday.
"We are playing," he said to ESPN's Karl Ravech. "The players need to be better, but I am not a quitter in general and there is no reason to quit now. We have had to be fluid, but it is manageable."
However, Passan reported that Manfred conceded privately to MLB Players Association Executive Director Tony Clark that the 2020 season could end abruptly "if the sport doesn't do a better job of managing the coronavirus."