This weekend’s three-game series between the Chicago Cubs and St. Louis Cardinals has been postponed after a St. Louis player tested positive for COVID-19, according to Major League Baseball, a source told ESPN’s Jesse Rogers.
In total, eight Cardinals players have tested positive for the coronavirus since last week.
MLB earlier said Friday’s game had been postponed, allowing for additional testing and contact tracing. A source later said Saturday’s and Sunday’s games had also been postponed.
The Cardinals have not played since July 29 because of positive coronavirus tests. The team previously announced that it had returned 13 positive tests from its traveling party, with seven of them coming from players.
The team had returned to the field for light workouts Wednesday after being cleared to travel back to St. Louis from Milwaukee late Tuesday.
MLB released its most recent testing numbers Friday. The league said there were 13,043 samples taken last week with 13 positive results for a 0.1% positive rate. During the monitoring phase, there have been 53,826 overall samples that have returned 71 positives for a 0.1% positive rate. Of those 71 positive results, 49 are players and 22 are staff.
Among the players who confirmed they tested positive for COVID-19 were two All-Stars, catcher Yadier Molina and Paul DeJong. All-Star right-hander Carlos Martinez also went on the injured list, though no reason was given. Infielders Rangel Ravelo and Edmundo Sosa and relievers Junior Fernandez and Kodi Whitley also have been identified as testing positive.
Cardinals manager Mike Shildt said earlier this week that there is still some uncertainty about how the virus swept through the clubhouse, but the Cardinals believe it was introduced from someone asymptomatic who came in contact with the team.
Before Friday’s postponement, the Cardinals had already added three doubleheaders against the Brewers to a previously scheduled series to make up their three games postponed last weekend. Milwaukee will host doubleheaders Sept. 18 and 20 and will serve as the home team in the opener of a twinbill in St. Louis on Sept. 25.
The Cardinals will make up this week’s series against the Detroit Tigers with doubleheaders Aug. 13 and Sept. 10. St. Louis had been scheduled to play the Chicago White Sox at the Field of Dreams in Iowa on Aug. 13. Those teams will play in Chicago on Aug. 14 instead.
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