On the heels of the report that at least eight people at the Phillies camp in Clearwater, Florida have tested positive for COVID-19 comes a report from Jeff Passan of ESPN that that the Toronto Blue Jays have shut down their spring training facility in Dunedin, Florida after a player exhibited COVID-19 symptoms.
Passan says that the player is a pitcher on the Jays’ 40-man roster who recently spent time with some players in the Phillies’ minor leagues system, so there is likely a connection. Of course, Florida as a whole is seeing a major spike in COVID cases overall. Within minutes of the report on the Phillies, a report came out that the NHL’s Tampa Bay Lightning have had multiple players test positive for COVID-19 and that the team has closed its arena and is performing contact tracing
We’ve spent so much time talking about the labor situation and the hurdles facing baseball in returning to play. It’s also the case, however, that even if those hurdles are cleared, the pandemic may have the final say as to whether there is a 2020 baseball season.
The Toronto Blue Jays on Thursday shut down their spring training facility in Dunedin, Fla., after a player exhibited COVID-19 symptoms, sources tell ESPN.
Dunedin is just up the road from Clearwater, where eight people in the Philadelphia Phillies organization tested positive.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) June 19, 2020
