Phillies: What to know for resumption of play vs. Yankees

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As COVID-19 continues to loom over the 2020 MLB season, the Phillies are set to return to action on Monday against Gerrit Cole and the Yankees.

The Philadelphia Phillies got off to a pretty rough start, to say the least. After the Marlins gave them problems in 2019, Aaron Nola gave up 4 runs in an Opening Day loss. All the while Vince Velasquez and the bullpen faltered after a 4-0 lead in Game 3 of the series. Aside from Zack Wheeler and Didi Gregorius, both new additions, and strong games from Phil Gosselin and Adam Haseley, no one looked better than average over the initial weekend.

However, following the third game of the season, reports disclosed a COVID-19 outbreak among the Miami Marlins tallying several positive tests. Of course, this affected the Phillies, causing both teams to suspend play and operations for the foreseeable future. It didn’t stop there though, with the Washington Nationals and New York Yankees, both teams’ respective next opponents, changing their schedules. It seemed like the Phillies would play this weekend against Toronto, but that was postponed as well.

The Phillies have returned in the past few days and have begun staggered workouts at Citizens Bank Park; it is believed there only two COVID-positive tests of staff members following the Marlins outbreak were false positives, which is significant news in the return to play.

It almost goes without saying: everyone knew some type of COVID-19 outbreak would happen or that players would test positive. What’s shocking is Commissioner Rob Manfred‘s lack of a plan and urgency.

Not to mention, the St. Louis Cardinals also had an outbreak of their own, involving both players and coaches. Per Ken Rosenthal, six teams are now waiting to continue their season: Milwaukee Brewers, St. Louis Cardinals, Philadelphia Phillies, Washington Nationals, Miami Marlins, and Toronto Blue Jays. Let’s not forget some scheduling adjustments the New York Yankees have faced because of this, and other teams that will follow.

Citizens Bank Park (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images) /

Is the season in jeoparady?

Before the season, notable players like David Price, Buster Posey, and Ryan Zimmerman opted out. Since, other players have followed, such as Milwaukee Brewers All-Star Lorenzo Cain and Marlins second baseman Isan Diaz. A full and updated list of opted-out players can be found on NBC Sports here.

Since the outbreaks, not much changed across Major League Baseball. Other teams played their games, while teams missing games simply missed games. Jeff Passan of ESPN reported that Rob Manfred warned of canceling the 2020 season if “the sport does not do a better job of managing the coronavirus.”

What does this mean for baseball and the Phillies?

When do the Phillies play again?

On Sunday, the Phillies once again reported no new positive cases of COVID-19; they are slated to resume play Monday evening against Gerrit Cole and the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium. The Marlins, too, reported good news.

pic.twitter.com/l48pYSBhKh
— Todd Zolecki (@ToddZolecki) August 2, 2020

What has Major League Baseball done so far?

To be honest, not much. They would like to enforce stricter policies and encourage every club to take social distancing and safety measures, like no high-fives, more seriously. A statement was released on Saturday for three clubs, including the Phillies:

Here is MLB’s official update on the #Phillies, #Yankees and #Marlins.

It includes the revelation that two of the Phillies’ results appear to be false positives.

The Phillies will now resume play Monday against the Yankees, with the Marlins returning Tuesday in Baltimore. pic.twitter.com/6zuijYDtbF
— Jayson Stark (@jaysonst) August 1, 2020

The Phillies will be back on Monday, while the Marlins return Tuesday in Baltimore. St. Louis seems to be postponed for the weekend, and more on them will most likely come after more results determine the severity of the situation. For now, the Cardinals seem to be back on Tuesday as well, beginning with a series against the Tigers.

J.T. Realmuto #10 of the Philadelphia Phillies (Photo by Hunter Martin/Getty Images) /

What was the MLB/MLBPA agreement?

An agreement came together between the MLBPA and MLB, agreeing that doubleheaders will now become 7-innings starting August 1. In these games, the base runner starting on second in extra innings will start in the 8th inning.

What about other games the Phillies missed?

Well, their schedule could become strenuous. Almost nothing has been said about schedule changes aside from the series between the Phillies and the Yankees after a week-long hiatus. MLB has not released a plan or statement on future schedule changes or reschedules. Seemingly, the schedule is being sorted out and made up as they go along.

Doubleheaders may be played later on in the year, too. It would just be rough on the Phillies due to their lack of pitching. With the updated schedule, they miss games against the Marlins and Blue Jays. However, they do play the Marlins and Blue Jays again down the stretch in September.

What can Major League Baseball do about the outbreaks?

Believe it or not, the MLB reserves the right to relocate any team from its home city or hold games at a neutral site, both in the postseason and regular season, due to health and safety concerns. It wouldn’t be surprising if this happened with a team like the Marlins, but does MLB have a neutral site readily prepared? Probably not. They might have some ready in time for playoff baseball, because that is where they make a lot of money off TV deals.

Of course, Manfred could also shut the season down at any time.

Are any players upset?

The outbreaks and how they have been handled have received backlash from multiple MLB players. Among them include the Los Angeles Dodgers’ David Price, who opted out, and the Chicago Cubs’ Anthony Rizzo.

Player safety? @mlb let’s sit around for 8 plus hours inside the clubhouse.. I’m sure I can find that somewhere in the 113 page player safety protocol.
— Anthony Rizzo (@ARizzo44) July 30, 2020

Now we REALLY get to see if MLB is going to put players health first. Remember when Manfred said players health was PARAMOUNT?! Part of the reason I’m at home right now is because players health wasn’t being put first. I can see that hasn’t changed.
— David Price (@DAVIDprice24) July 27, 2020

Could the Phillies just play daily doubleheaders?

Nothing is out of the question. The Phillies plainly do not have enough pitching to play in multiple doubleheaders throughout the week. Although doubleheaders would only be seven innings long, there is a chance the Phillies could play 7 games in 5 days, with 2 doubleheaders.

In that case, no one knows who Joe Girardi would turn to on the mound after the first two games of the stretch.

Even after all of this, the Phillies only remain slightly behind the Atlanta Braves in the National League East standings.

Hopefully, the Phillies and fans get real answers to these questions soon. And, let’s hope that baseball can survive COVID-19.

No one wants the season to shut down. One major question remains: can Major League Baseball get this under control for three to four months? If the answer is no, there probably won’t be any baseball past late-August.

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