Rays updating players, staff on Fla.’s virus surge

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — The Tampa Bay Rays are keeping players and staff updated about the surge of COVID-19 cases in Florida.

Rays manager Kevin Cash said before Monday night’s game with Seattle that the team’s training staff is “pretty adamant about getting messages out and keeping people aware” of the evolving situation.

“Look, we’re all concerned,” Cash said. “I think the players are very aware. We all kind of had our fingers crossed that we were going to get past this to an extent but it doesn’t feel that way right now. So we’ll try to do our due diligence in keeping our group as safe as possible.”

Florida reported 21,683 new cases of COVID-19 on Friday, the state’s highest one-day total since the start of the pandemic, according to federal health data.

The numbers were released Saturday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s.

The increase has impacted baseball in the Sunshine State.

The Philadelphia Phillies’ Class-A and rookie-level Florida Complex League teams located in Clearwater had games canceled or postponed over the weekend. Other minor leagues teams around the state have placed players on the COVID-19 list but were able to continue playing.

Rays reliever Nick Anderson was scheduled to join Triple-A Durham last Thursday to make a rehab appearance for a sprained right elbow, but didn’t because of COVID-19-related issues.

Most employees working inside Tropicana Field for Monday night’s game with the Mariners were back to wearing masks.

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