St. Louis Cardinals positive coronavirus cases up to 13, travel plans remain on hold

The St. Louis Cardinals will have a bunch of games to make up due to their COVID-19 outbreak.

MLB commissioner Rob Manfred thought he only had to worry about the Miami Marlins’ massive outbreak of COVID-19 last week. But then, the St. Louis Cardinals had some positive tests this past Friday, and reports indicated that the number would be pretty significant. We now have the confirmed number.

According to Mark Saxon of The Athletic, at least eight additional members have tested positive for the coronavirus, bringing their total to 13. Of the 13, seven were players and six were staff members.

As a result, St. Louis’ four-game series against the Detroit Tigers has been postponed, and the team will remain quarantined in Milwaukee. MLB announced that the Cardinals will continue to be tested daily and the tentative plan is that they can return to play this Friday against the Chicago Cubs. Of course, that depends on the testing results throughout the week.

The Cardinals remain in a holding pattern with more games postponed

St. Louis was expected to have a three-game series against the Brewers this past weekend, but that was subsequently canceled after two Cardinals players tested positive on Wednesday morning, one of them being pitcher Carlos Martinez. The team did play the Minnesota Twins later on that day, but luckily no one on the AL Central team tested positive.

Former MLB player Jerry Hairston Jr. reported that a couple of Cardinals players left their hotel to visit a casino prior to their outbreak. That report was later confirmed by insider Jon Heyman.

Even after Miami’s outbreak, commissioner Rob Manfred was adamant that the season would not be canceled. However, Manfred did speak with MLB Players Association executive director Tony Clark this past Friday and warned that the players have to take the protocols more seriously, or the season would be in danger of shutting down again. In fact, reports indicated that Manfred warned television networks to plan alternative programming in the event of postponed games.

This latest update on the Cardinals continues to prove just how hard it is to play a season during a global pandemic without a bubble environment. We’re sure the NFL and college football are watching with uneasiness at how the MLB has handled things just two weeks into their season.