Philadelphia Phillies

Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Jose Alvarez was removed from Game 1 of Thursday's doubleheader against the Toronto Blue Jays after being hit in the groin by a line drive. 

Per Tim Kelly of Phillies Nation, Alvarez had to be carted off the field after a liner from Lourdes Gurriel Jr. hit him in the groin. Alvarez was able to throw Gurriel out before falling to the ground. 

Per MLB.com's Todd Zolecki, the ball came off Gurriel's bat at 105.3 mph. 

Zolecki noted the Phillies didn't have an immediate update on Alvarez's status after Toronto's 3-2 victory.

Rookie Spencer Howard reached his pitch limit after 3.2 innings and was replaced by Blake Parker in the fourth. Alvarez took over for Parker with two outs in the bottom of the fifth. 

Philadelphia's bullpen has been a problem in 2020. The group had an 8.11 ERA with 90 hits allowed in 61 innings coming into Thursday's games. Seranthony Dominguez will miss the entire season after having Tommy John surgery in July. 

David Robertson (elbow) and Ranger Suarez (COVID-19) are still working their way back. 

Alvarez has been one of the few bright spots for the Phillies bullpen. The left-hander has a 1.42 ERA with six strikeouts in 6.1 innings. 

The Philadelphia Phillies took the field Monday for the first time since their opening series against the Miami Marlins ended on July 26, and left fielder Andrew McCutchen is not happy about the delay.

Jayson Stark of The Athletic asked McCutchen if he was upset with the Marlins after a number of their players tested positive for COVID-19 following the series in Philadelphia, causing the Phillies to miss plenty of action.

As it turns out, he was:

"I was upset at everything that's transpired through that—whoever decided to step out or not necessarily follow the health and safety protocol. That upset me. What made me angry was that we, as the Phillies—we were the ones that ended up having to pay for that. … We followed all of the health and safety protocols. We knew that was important. We understood that's what we needed to do to be able to play this game. And we did everything right. And we paid for it.

"And so for me, that was upsetting. I'm sitting here at home, watching 28 to 27 to 26 other teams play, and we're sitting at home—all (testing) negative by the way. And we have to watch this happen while we did nothing wrong. So for me, that was very upsetting. It was very upsetting that we did everything right, and we were still the ones paying for it."

Stark provided more information, noting Major League Baseball is investigating player behavior from the Marlins in an effort "to determine what caused one positive case to mushroom into 20 in a span of just a few days."

Marlins CEO Derek Jeter said some of the players "let their guard down" but stressed there were "no clubs, no bars, no running around Atlanta."

Miami is not the only team dealing with such a situation.

On Monday, ESPN's Jeff Passan noted MLB postponed the St. Louis Cardinals' series against the Detroit Tigers because 13 members of the Cardinals organization have tested positive for COVID-19, including seven players. St. Louis has not played since Wednesday, July 29. 

"I have no factual reason to believe that is true, and I have not seen any proof of that," Cardinals general manager John Mozeliak said when asked about whether some of the Cardinals players went to a casino, per Passan. "If they were at a casino, though, that would be disappointing."

For his part, McCutchen said players around the league can learn from the early positive tests and scheduling delays: 

"We can see all it takes is one person, two, whatever, to really make things a little difficult with this season. So I was upset at the fact that we did everything right and weren't playing. So as far as specific players from the other team, whatever they did is what they did. But we realize now, hopefully, we can learn from that and realize that we've all got to be on the same page if we want to be able to play this game, to play this season."

MLB is doing what it can to squeeze more games into a short amount of time, such as playing doubleheaders with seven-inning games. When Philadelphia took the field Monday to face the New York Yankees, it had played seven fewer games this season than the 7-3 Atlanta Braves.

The Phillies are now trying to make up ground in the National League East standings and in the overall number of games they have played.

The Philadelphia Phillies will resume their 2020 season Monday against the New York Yankees after no players or staff tested positive for COVID-19 for the third straight day.

Jayson Stark of The Athletic reported Major League Baseball believes the two positives from Thursday were false positives. The Phillies have not played a game since last Sunday after the Miami Marlins had an outbreak that led to more than half of their active roster testing positive for COVID-19.

The Phillies played the Marlins in a three-game series on opening weekend.

The outbreak has put the Phillies and Marlins at a distinct disadvantage, with both teams having only played three games. Many teams will have as many as 10 games played by the end of the weekend.

It's unclear how MLB will make up the games missed. An agreement between MLB and the MLBPA made all doubleheaders seven-inning games for the duration of the 2020 season, so it's likely the Marlins and Phillies will be put into doubleheaders to make up lost games.

The St. Louis Cardinals and Milwaukee Brewers also had their four-game series over the weekend postponed after the Cardinals had multiple positive tests. 

Two days after closing their facilities because of two positive COVID-19 tests from a coach and clubhouse staffer, the Philadelphia Phillies learned that some of those results were inaccurate.

MLB announced in a statement that "it appears that two" of the team's three positive tests were false positives and that "it is unclear if the third individual contracted COVID-19 from Marlins players and staff based on the timing of the positive test." 

ESPN's Jeff Passan first reported the Phillies were "optimistic" those tests returned false positives as they received access to Citizens Bank Park to hold staggered workouts Saturday. 

MLB also announced the Phillies and Yankees will play a four-game home-and-home series beginning Monday.

The Phillies haven't played since their season-opening series against the Miami Marlins from July 24-26.

Prior to the final game of that series, MLB Network's Jon Heyman reported Marlins starting pitcher Jose Urena was scratched from his scheduled start because of a positive test. 

As of Friday, ESPN's Jesse Rogers reported the Marlins have had 21 members of their traveling party test positive for COVID-19 in the past week. 

While the Phillies haven't had any players test positive for the virus since their series against the Marlins, Rob Maaddi of the Associated Press (h/t NBC Philadelphia) reported on July 29 that a visiting clubhouse staffer did return a positive test.

Passan noted the two false positives would allow the Phillies to take their incubation period back to their final game against the Marlins.  

The Philadelphia Phillies received some good news from their latest round of COVID-19 testing after two staff members were tested positive earlier this week. 

Per an official statement from the organization, it had no new positive results from Thursday's testing:

Major League Baseball announced on Thursday that two staff members—one coach and one clubhouse staffer at Citizens Bank Park—tested positive for COVID-19.

The Phillies' weekend series against the Toronto Blue Jays was postponed as a result and all activity at Citizens Bank Park was suspended until further notice. 

Philadelphia opened the 2020 regular season against the Miami Marlins last weekend. Four players on the team had reportedly tested positive for the coronavirus at the time, per ESPN.com. 

As of Friday, the Marlins have had a total of 20 positive tests (18 players, two coaches) and have had their games postponed through at least Sunday. 

Per MLB.com's Todd Zolecki, Phillies general manager Matt Klentak has said it's "very possible" they will have a different opponent than the Marlins if they are able to play starting next week. 

The Phillies were supposed to start a four-game home-and-home series against the New York Yankees on July 27. 

Yankees manager Aaron Boone told reporters on Wednesday he is “under the impression” MLB will reschedule their series with the Phillies for next week. 

If the Phillies can resume play on Monday, they will have had eight days off since their last game against the Marlins on July 26. 

The Philadelphia Phillies announced Thursday that two of their staff members have tested positive for COVID-19:

The organization noted that while no players tested positive for COVID-19, one coach and one member of the home clubhouse staff did. As a result, all activity at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia has been canceled until further notice.

Philadelphia was supposed to play a home-and-home series with the New York Yankees this week, but all four games were postponed over concerns that the Phillies were exposed to COVID-19 during their season-opening series against the Miami Marlins.

As of Thursday, at least 17 Marlins players and 19 people within the Marlins organization are known to have tested positive for the coronavirus.

Major League Baseball paused the Marlins' season through at least Sunday, at which point their situation will be reevaluated and it will be determined when they can return to action.

The Phillies are supposed to play a three-game set against the Toronto Blue Jays at Citizens Bank Park beginning Saturday, but that could now be in jeopardy.

Philadelphia has not played a game since Sunday, when it lost 11-6 to the Marlins to fall to 1-2 on the season.

Rather than risk exposure to COVID-19 by facing the Phillies this week, the Yankees didn't play Monday or Tuesday, but they altered their schedule to play a two-game set against the Orioles in Baltimore on Wednesday and Thursday before hosting the Boston Red Sox for a three-game series Friday through Sunday.

The Phillies went just 81-81 last season after signing outfielder Bryce Harper in free agency, but there was a great deal of optimism surrounding the team entering the 2020 campaign.

Philly made several significant moves, including signing starting pitcher Zack Wheeler and shortstop Didi Gregorius, as well as hiring Joe Girardi as their new manager.

The Phillies have neither reached the playoffs nor posted a winning record since going 102-60 in 2011.

Teams like the Phillies and Marlins are in a difficult spot since there are few days off throughout the 60-game schedule, making it difficult to find time for makeup games.

One possibility Girardi mentioned is that if some teams are unable to play 60 games, the standings should be determined by winning percentage rather than record.

Just prior to the start of the 2020 season, MLB and the MLBPA agreed to expand the playoffs to eight teams per league for this season only.

Further testing on Philadelphia Phillies players and staff yielded zero positive COVID-19 results for the second day in a row, according to ESPN's Jeff Passan on Wednesday.

The Phillies haven't played since Sunday's 11-6 defeat to the Miami Marlins, after which the Marlins were revealed to have a coronavirus outbreak.

The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal reported Philadelphia will return to the field Saturday with a doubleheader against the Toronto Blue Jays before concluding the three-game series Sunday.

The Marlins, meanwhile, will not play until at least Monday after MLB temporarily halted their season. Commissioner Rob Manfred, who has the authority to suspend or cancel a team's campaign, initially said the league wasn't planning to take that step with Miami.

Rosenthal reported Wednesday the 18th member of the organization tested positive for COVID-19.

Rosenthal had reported Tuesday a "vast majority" of Washington Nationals players voted against traveling to Miami for a three-game set with the Marlins this weekend.

Phillies manager Joe Girardi addressed the situation Tuesday in an interview on SiriusXM's MLB Network Radio. He said it was "smart" for MLB to exercise caution and added that it would be OK if a team failed to play 60 games.

The Athletic's Matt Gelb reported MLB officials "consulted with national and local public health officials" to determine the Phillies' five-day break.

The Marlins' outbreak, which happened days after Opening Day, underscores the tenuous nature of the season. Aware of three positive tests within their team, Marlins players decided to play Sunday, thus potentially risking exposing the Phillies and derailing the season.

Los Angeles Dodgers starting pitcher David Price, who opted out of the season, was among those critical of Manfred and MLB officials:

Playing during a pandemic—and not within a "bubble" in which MLB could closely monitor players and staff—meant this was one possible outcome.

Philadelphia Phillies outfielder Andrew McCutchen is not happy with the lack of communication coming from Major League Baseball. 

The Phillies have had their games through Friday postponed after playing the Miami Marlins—who are shut down through Sunday after having 17 members of the traveling party test positive for COVID-19—to start the season, and McCutchen said he's had to go on Twitter to get the news:

No players on the Phillies have tested positive for the coronavirus in the wake of the Marlins' rash of positive tests. 

McCutchen isn't the only person in baseball this year to express displeasure with issues in MLB's communication this summer.

"Seventy-two hours later, we have yet to receive the results of those tests," Washington Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo said in a statement earlier in July regarding the team not being sent test results back. "We cannot have our players and staff work at risk... Major League Baseball needs to work quickly to resolve issues with their process and their lab. Otherwise, Summer Camp and the 2020 Season are at risk."

The Philadelphia Phillies may want to keep J.T. Realmuto beyond this season, but they aren't rushing into an extension with their All-Star catcher. 

Realmuto's latest update on contract talks with the Phillies is that there's nothing to discuss, per Scott Lauber of the Philadelphia Inquirer. 

"Nothing's happened thus far," the catcher said. "To be honest, I'm focused on the season at this point."

There has been some speculation about what could happen to the free-agent market after this season because of what teams have been saying about their finances, stemming from a shortened 60-game schedule with no fans in the stands. 

In the case of Mookie Betts, who would have been the top free agent available, the Los Angeles Dodgers rustled up a record-breaking 12-year, $365 million extension to ensure the 2018 American League MVP never made it to the market. 

Realmuto expressed happiness at seeing at least one team was willing to hand out a significant contract for a premium talent:

"It was definitely positive to see for baseball knowing that teams still do have that money. Like I mentioned a few weeks ago, I still think that the teams at the top of the market are going to be willing to spend money. Some teams are going to take advantage of the situation where half or maybe three-quarters of the league might not be interested in spending as much money. Other teams are going to really go for it and push for those players. It was good to see [Betts] get what he deserves."

Since Betts won't be available, Realmuto might be the top free agent because of his talent and value related to the position he plays. The 29-year-old led all MLB catchers with 17 FanGraphs wins above replacement from 2017 to '19. 

The Phillies are paying Realmuto $10 million this season. He was acquired in February 2019 in a trade with the Miami Marlins when Philadelphia gave up Jorge Alfaro, Sixto Sanchez, Will Stewart and international bonus money. 

Realmuto rewarded the Phillies by making the All-Star team, winning a Silver Slugger and his first-career Gold Glove award in 2019. He's the most reliable player in MLB at a position that every team wants to have stability at.

Philadelphia Phillies outfielder Andrew McCutchen posted an emotional message Friday as he prepares to play his first MLB game since tearing his ACL last June:

McCutchen signed with the Phillies prior to last season. He was off to a strong start with a .834 OPS and 10 home runs in 59 games before suffering the season-ending knee injury.

The 33-year-old Florida native was scheduled to miss the start of the 2020 campaign while completing his recovery, but the delay caused by the coronavirus pandemic will allow him to take part in Opening Day on Friday when Philadelphia hosts the Miami Marlins.

McCutchen told John Clark of NBC Sports Philadelphia in early July the extra time helped him fine tune his game in addition to getting healthy.

"I didn't get through the rehab process by just trying to get ready, I actually was able to take my time and really tinker with small things because there wasn't a season right away," he said. "I was able to really take my time and hone in to my rehab process. It was really good for me to be able to do that. It set me up to be ready for the season."

McCutchen is slated to serve as the Phillies' starting left fielder and leadoff hitter in 2020.

He'll play a crucial role as Philadelphia battles with the reigning World Series champion Washington Nationals, the defending NL East champion Atlanta Braves and the New York Mets in the division race. Even the Marlins have the potential to make some noise in the shortened 60-game regular season.

McCutchen's career resume includes the 2013 NL MVP Award, which he captured while with the Pittsburgh Pirates, five All-Star selections, four Silver Slugger Awards and a Gold Glove Award.