The Washington Nationals scheduled game against the Atlanta Braves for Monday has been postponed, with a plan for the teams to face each other Tuesday, which would be Washington’s first game of the year as it deals with COVID-19 issues. The Nationals’ season-opening series against the New York Mets was postponed.
There were 11 unavailable players for the Nationals because of four players in isolation due to positive tests and seven players in quarantine. In addition, two staff members were in quarantine. Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo was unsure if the entire series against the Braves would be played, and also told reporters a “majority” of the unavailable players would have made the 26-man Opening Day roster.
MLB’s health and safety protocols for the 2021 season state that “individuals who test positive will be required to isolate for a minimum of 10 days, receive appropriate care and monitoring from the Club medical staff, and be cleared by the Joint Committee and the individual’s team physician, following a mandatory cardiac evaluation and a determination that the individual no longer presents a risk of infection to others.”
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