Cardinals could return to play at end of this week
The Cardinals could be back on the field for a weekend series.
The St. Louis Cardinals have not played a game since July 29 due to an outbreak of positive COVID-19 tests within the organization. That has the team sitting with a 2-3 record at a time when other teams are nearing the 20-game mark.
The Cardinals have postponements up until Friday when they are set to head on the road to face the Chicago White Sox. ESPN’s Jeff Passan believes that series will be played as scheduled.
Jeff Passan from ESPN just told Jason and John on 92.9 that his guess is the Cardinals will return to play Friday. He said the question for Rob Manfred is going to be ‘what’s the threshold for the @Cardinals in terms of games played’ when the playoffs begin/discussing qualifying
— 929ESPN (@929espn) August 12, 2020
Cardinals finally ready to play catch-up
Just getting back on the field will be a huge positive step for St. Louis. The next step is figuring out, as Passan mentions, how many games MLB will put on the team’s schedule. Playing 55 games in a span of six weeks is not safe or realistic.
The likely plan will be to have them play as many games as possible and go with their final winning percentage when it comes time for the postseason. This plan may also have to be used for their opponents due to all the cancellations.
The Cardinals already have two five-game series against the Milwaukee Brewers on the schedule in September. However, their entire schedule can be considered tentative as the club and MLB figures out a proper plan to finish the season.
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This whole situation should show the league that a postseason bubble may be the only path forward. What happens if a team in the World Series has a similar outbreak? Saying that is impossible is just ignoring what has already happened with the Cardinals and the Miami Marlins.