Reds and Pirates games postponed as Cincinnati player tests positive for COVID-19

The Cincinnati Reds and the Pittsburgh Pirates will not play Saturday or Sunday as originally planned after a Reds player tested positive for COVID-19, the league announced. Major League Baseball’s decision to postpone the contests is presumably so that more testing can be done in advance of allowing the Reds to resume play. It’s not clear when the Reds will return to the field, but their next scheduled game is Tuesday in Kansas City.

COVID-19’s incubation period can range from two to 14 days, meaning that individuals could have been infected without necessarily testing positive for the virus.

The Reds have been home all week, hosting the Kansas city Royals from Tuesday through Thursday following a Monday off day. The chances of a team-to-team transmission during a game seem remote given the inherent space and lack of close contact between players. Neither the Miami Marlins nor the St. Louis Cardinals’ outbreaks have resulted in a positive test from the other teams they’ve played.

Incidentally, the Cardinals resumed their season on Saturday. That day would’ve seen all 30 teams in action for the first time since July 26 — the first Sunday of the season.

As MLB.com’s Mark Sheldon noted, the ending of Friday’s game featured an unusual scene involving center fielder Nick Senzel, who was pulled aside by a coach before he could join in on the team’s celebration. It’s unclear if the events are connected. Manager David Bell did seem to hint at it during his postgame press conference, however, by saying: “It’s just something personal and internal with Nick and our team that we’ll have more information on coming up.”

The Reds avoided what looked like a potential outbreak situation near the start of the season, when Senzel and Mike Moustakas self-reported COVID-19 symptoms after teammate Matt Davidson initially tested positive. (Davidson later tested negative on official tests.) Joey Votto has also since self-reported symptoms, though he returned to action after two negative tests taken at least 24 hours apart.