Eleven Marlins players and two coaches had previously tested positive for the virus, according to ESPN.
Within the last week, ESPN reports that the team has had 17 people test positive.
CNN has reached out the Marlins and MLB for confirmation and an update on the team’s status.
The team did not travel back to Miami Sunday after a three-game series in Philadelphia, but stayed overnight for more testing.
The Marlins’ home opener against the Baltimore Orioles and the New York Yankees game with the Phillies, both scheduled for Monday night, were postponed.
On Monday, MLB commissioner Rob Manfred — asked if there was a point within the league or team to cause a shutdown of the the schedule — said: “I think that a team losing a number of players that rendered it completely non-competitive would be an issue that we would have to address and have to think about making a change, whether that was shutting down a part of the season, the whole season, that depends on the circumstances.”
“Same thing with respect to leaguewide. You get to a certain point leaguewide where it does become a health threat and we certainly would shut down at that point.”
Ahead of the Marlins’ game Sunday against the Philadelphia Phillies, the Marlins found out that starting pitcher Jose Urena would not be available to play.
Urena had tested positive for Covid-19, according to multiple outlets, including ESPN and The Philadelphia Inquirer.
But the players decided in a group chat to play the game anyway, Marlins shortstop Miguel Rojas said in a video call with reporters.
“We made the decision that we’re going to continue to do this and we’re going to continue to be responsible and just play the game as hard as we can,” Rojas said.
The Marlins went on to win the game, 11-6.
Florida over the weekend became the state with the second-highest official coronavirus case count, surpassing New York — the country’s epicenter early in the pandemic.
The return of professional sports couldn’t have come at a worse time as cases in the United States continue to rise, with more than 4 million confirmed cases, according to Johns Hopkins University data.
The abbreviated, 60-game MLB season is spectator-free. It features new non-traditional rules, including the banning of spitting, to avoid spreading the virus.
