#Phillies have major coronavirus outbreak at spring training facility

In case anyone needed a reminder that the labor dispute between Major League Baseball and the Players Association is just one thing that could erase the 2020 baseball season, the Phillies confirmed they are dealing with a coronavirus outbreak at their spring training facility in Clearwater, Fla.

The outbreak, first reported by NBC Sports Philadelphia, so far includes five players and three staff members who have tested positive for the virus.

In a statement, the Phillies said the first confirmed case occurred this Tuesday. The club added that eight members have tested negative and 20 players (both minor and major leaguers) and a dozen other staff members are awaiting results — so it’s entirely likely the situation could soon become considerably worse. The Philadelphia Inquirer reported that the virus has already spread to family members of the players and staff infected.

These are the first known cases to surface since teams began to let players back into facilities.

Phillies Managing Partner John Middleton said in a statement that as a result of the confirmed cases “all facilities in Clearwater have been closed indefinitely to all players, coaches and staff and will remain closed until medical authorities are confident that the virus is under control and our facilities are disinfected.”

The team added “in terms of the implications of this outbreak on the Phillies’ 2020 season, the club declines comment, believing that it is too early to know.”

Like all other teams around MLB, the Phillies shuttered their facility when spring training was shut down in March due to COVID-19.

After the facility was cleaned, players rehabbing from injuries could return. More recently, other players were also allowed to work out at Spectrum Field.

As MLB and the MLBPA haggle over economic matters, there has been thought spring training could resume as soon as the end of next week, provided they strike an agreement soon.

And while the report said none of the people who tested positive needed to be hospitalized, the development would obviously be concerning — especially as the number of cases increase in states where teams are expected to train, including Florida, Arizona and Texas.

“I’m not trying to scare anyone, but this is real and it spreads quickly and easily and people need to know,” one person who knows some of the Phillies personnel who came down with the virus told NBC Sports.

The Yankees had a pair of minor leaguers test positive for COVID-19 in March and quarantined their minor leaguers as a result. The two players have since recovered.