Major League Baseball (MLB) was forced to postpone Saturday's game and the doubleheader between the Milwaukee Brewers and St. Louis Cardinals after initial rapid tests found another player and "multiple' staff from the Cardinals could be infected with the coronavirus.
The MLB is struggling to keep its already shortened season going after several games were forced into postponement due to multiple positive test results, and an outbreak within the Miami Marlins adding to the uncertainty surrounding the punctuated season.
Season Marred By COVID-19
The league had already rescheduled Friday's game between Milwaukee and St. Louis after two Cardinals players tested positive. Brewers center fielder Lorenzo Cain opted out of the rest of the 2020 season, the team said on Saturday, though it did not specify why.
"We fully support Lorenzo's decision, and we will miss his talents on the field and leadership in the clubhouse," Brewers President and General Manager David Stearns said in a written statement.
The Marlins have been quarantined in Philadelphia since Sunday after numerous members of the club tested positive after playing against the Phillies, who head to the Bronx to play the Yankees on Monday. Three Phillies staffers had tested positive for COVID-19, MLB said, though two of those reports turned out to be false positives.
Red Sox's Woes
The Boston Red Sox confirmed on Saturday that 27-year-old pitcher Eduardo Rodriguez would miss the rest of the season after developing myocarditis, an inflammation of the heart, after his COVID-19 diagnosis.
"We were optimistic that it would resolve in short order and that we would be able to progress him back to pitching. As we continued to monitor it, it has not resolved. It is still there," Red Sox Chief Baseball Officer Chaim Bloom told reporters.
"We need to make sure we're taking care of him. This is not something to mess around with." The Red Sox expect Rodriguez to return next season. The league said on Friday that there were 29 new positive tests - 20 players and nine staff members - in the past week, comprising 0.2 percent of all tests taken in that period.
(With inputs from agencies)
