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Rays spring notes: coronavirus, roster cuts, simulated games, and more

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The scene inside the Rays media tent in Port Charlotte.

The Tampa Bay Rays took of the Boston Red Sox, in Port Charlotte, on the first day of camp with the updated rules related to the coronavirus pandemic.

All locker rooms and clubhouses will only be open to players and essential club employees until further notice. During this period, those prohibited from the clubhouse include credentialed media, team staff, family members, guests, and outside vendors.

Players, as well as Manager Kevin Cash, said the situation is different, although they understand the nuts and bolts of the circumstances.

This is pretty unique. Everybody involved including MLB is trying to be smart about it. Educated people a heck of a lot more educated than me are making these decisions, so we go with them and we listen.

— Kevin Cash

Kevin Kiermaier said there are serious concerns among the players.

I think it’s very, very scary and you just hope we’re doing all the right things necessary to keep us out of harm’s way. Everyone throughout the whole world, the same thing.

— Kevin Kiermaier

While inconvenient, these are ultimately small steps put in place by Major League Baseball — measures that will fade once the pandemic scare is reduced.

However, bigger changes could be coming in the short-term. Some teams, like the Mariners, have been told they won’t be allowed to play games in Seattle at the start of the season. There is also increasing discussion of games being played throughout the league without fans.

It’s looking like a miracle if U.S. sports doesn’t shut down for a while, and maybe it really should

While unprecedented in the United States, sporting events in Italy have been canceled at least until the end of the month. Meanwhile, Japanese officials postponed the start of the 12-team professional baseball league season on Monday because of the spread of the coronavirus which is responsible for COVID-19.

Kiermaier, the longest-tenured Ray, said the unusual time calls for unprecedented measures.

We’re in an industry where everyone is obviously trying, our team, our organization is looking out for each and every player.

It’s wild to think about, but if that’s what it’s going to take then we have to adapt and be open with whatever is asked of us. There is no way around it. If it comes to that, then so be it. Obviously, we want to play in front of our fans and on the road. That’s just the way the game is supposed to be played. But we’ve never seen anything quite like this before.

— Kevin Kiermaier

MLB has indicated an awareness of the situation and acknowledged the “fluidity” inherent to it. One would imagine that the urgency of the matter will lead the league to take a leadership position as the dangers become all the more evident.

Prior to Wednesday’s contest, Tampa Bay announced six more roster cuts, reducing the total number of players in big-league camp to 54. The latest group includes C Rene Pinto, 1B/OF Dalton Kelly, INF Miles Mastrobuoni, OF Ryan LaMarre, and right-handed pitchers Joe Ryan and Tyler Zombro.

The updated roster is below; players designated with an asterisk are non-roster invites:

Pitchers — Jose Alvarado, Nick Anderson, Anthony Banda, Jalen Beeks, Diego Castillo, Yonny Chirinos, Dylan Covey*, John Curtiss*, Oliver Drake, Pete Fairbanks, Josh Fleming*, Sean Gilmartin*, Tyler Glasnow, Andrew Kittredge, Aaron Loup*, Shane McClanahan*, Charlie Morton, Deck McGuire*, Brendan McKay, Sam McWilliams*, Colin Poche, Brooks Pounders*, Trevor Richards, Chaz Roe, Phoenix Sanders*, Ryan Sherriff*, Aaron Slegers*, Blake Snell, DJ Snelten*, Ryan Thompson*, Ryan Yarbrough.

Catchers — Chris Herrmann*, Michael Perez, Kevan Smith,* Brett Sullivan*, Mike Zunino

Infielders — Willy Adames, Mike Brosseau, Ji-Man Choi, Yandy Diaz, Brandon Lowe, Nathaniel Lowe, Jose Martinez, Daniel Robertson, Taylor Walls*, Joey Wendle.

Outfielders — Randy Arozarena, Dylan Cozens*, Kevin Kiermaier, Manuel Margot, Austin Meadows, Brian O’Grady, Hunter Renfroe, Yoshi Tsutsugo.

In exhibition game action, Tampa Bay fell to Boston 3-1 under the lights. Rays No. 7 prospect, Shane McClanahan, got the start and continued to gas the opposition — lighting up the radar gun by hitting 99 mph a handful of times and topping out at 100 mph. Yet, while his velocity is great, McClanahan says he feels he needs to be in the strike zone more frequently.

I don’t measure success by velocity. A 100 is cool but it doesn’t matter if it’s not in the zone. Just ultimately learn from it, work on it, get back out there and fill up the zone.

— Shane McClanahan

McClanahan threw 20 of 33 pitches for strikes (61% strike rate) across 1-1/3 innings, allowing two hits and a walk while striking out one.

McClanahan gave credit to the defense for getting him out of the early jam.

Yandy (Diaz) made a great dive. Ji-Man had a hell of an effort to get back to first. Lots of good plays behind me.

— Shane McClanahan

Manager Cash said McClanahan could become a piece to the 2020 puzzle at some point this season.

You don’t see many 98 mph fastballs, with just unhittable breaking balls when they’re right in the zone. And that’s kind of what we’ve seen out of him. A lot to be excited about with him and a lot of the other guys.

— Kevin Cash

The New What Next

Brendan McKay will make his second Grapefruit League appearance — first start — Thursday afternoon against the Phillies, in Port Charlotte. José Alvarado, Chaz Roe, and Colin Poche are also slated to pitch for Tampa Bay.

Rays 3/12/20 Starting Lineup

  1. Meadows LF
  2. Zunino C
  3. Tsutsugo DH
  4. Renfroe RF
  5. Kiermaier CF
  6. Martinez 1B
  7. Wendle SS
  8. N. Lowe 3B
  9. Robertson 2B
  10. McKay LHP

Noteworthiness

— On Tuesday, Ryan Yarbrough, Tyler Glasnow and Pete Fairbanks pitched in a simulated game on the backfields.

Yarbrough pitched to catcher Kevan Smith and faced Nate Lowe, Mike Zunino, and Daniel Robertson. He worked four innings and threw 60 pitches (40 strikes, 67% strike rate).

Cash was impressed by what he saw.

His ball moves everywhere. The late movement that he can create is really, really impressive. You understand why he’s had so much success in his first two seasons.

— Kevin Cash

Glasnow pitched to Zunino and faced Lowe, Smith, and Robertson, pitching three innings and throwing 50 pitches (27 strikes, 54% strike rate). Fairbanks also pitched to Zunino and faced Lowe, Smith and Robertson. Fairbanks pitched one frame and threw 21 pitches (14 strikes, 67% strike rate).

— Blake Snell is slated to throw a simulated game Saturday in Port Charlotte since he was lined up to face the Blue Jays three consecutive times.

LBWMF: Morton throws a simulated game, the Rays tie the Pirates, and the first roster moves are announced

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Guillermo Heredia’s legs weren’t the only things tied up by the end of Sunday’s 2-2 ballgame against the Pirates, on Sunday. (Photo Credit: Tampa Bay Rays)

While the Tampa Bay Rays played an exhibition game against the Pittsburgh Pirates on Sunday, resulting in a 2-2 tie, Charlie Morton got in a 60+ pitch simulated ballgame on the backfields of Charlotte Sports Park.

Morton got four ups and downs — the equivalent of four innings of work — and threw more than 60 pitches while facing his teammates in the simulated game. The right-hander felt that while he got in more work than he anticipated, that work was productive.

My second up, I couldn’t throw a strike and that gave me an opportunity to make some corrections, which I did.

— Charlie Morton

Kyle Snyder was behind Morton, voicing any concerns that popped up given that “some bad habits you can get to (and fix) early,” Morton said.

Morton was able to increase his pitch count and use all four pitches without worry that the Pirates, whom the Rays will face on March 26th — and who they squared off against on Sunday — would catch on.

Morton will throw a five-inning/75-pitch simulated game his next time out followed by one last Grapefruit League outing before his likely first Opening Day start in his 13-year career.

It’d be special. It’s an honor. It’s something that most guys will tell you that they’d like to do it at least once.

— Charlie Morton

Meanwhile, Josh Fleming, the Montgomery Biscuits’ MVP last season, made the start against the Pirates. Fleming allowed a run on a walk and a bloop single across three innings of work. He struck out two and threw 37 pitches (23 strikes, 62% strike rate).

He’s going to be a fun guy to follow this year. He can really pitch, he can really change speeds, and he uses both sides of the plate. He’s confident throwing off-speed pitches at any time in the count.

— Kevin Cash

Relievers Nick Anderson and Oliver Drake each threw scoreless frames. Anderson told Neil Solondz he feels good about where he is this spring.

Just working on stuff every day, trying to get comfortable on the mound again. Getting out there frequently and feeling better.

— Nick Anderson

You can hear Anderson’s interview in its entirety on the SoundCloud player below, courtesy of Rays Radio.

Prior to the start of Sunday’s contest, Tampa Bay made its first cuts of the spring, reducing the spring roster from 67 to 60. All of the moves were expected.

The Rays optioned Lucius Fox, Vidal Brujan, Ronaldo Hernandez, Kevin Padlo, and Brent Honeywell. Right-handers Paul Campbell and Tristan Gray were reassigned to minor league camp.

I think all those guys made really good impressions. All were positive conversations and time for them to get down there.

— Kevin Cash

Honeywell has been throwing bullpens as he continues to rehab from Tommy John surgery and a fracture in his throwing arm. Campbell was delayed due to injury at the start of camp, while Padlo was absent from camp for a couple of weeks due to severe headaches that are being controlled with medication.

Manager Kevin Cash was especially impressed by Brujan and Fox.

Brujan’s really athletic, can play second and short, and shows a knack at the plate. I think Lucius the same way. We challenged him a little bit, sticking him in the outfield. He seemed to be comfortable with that.

— Kevin Cash

With minor-league Spring Training contests still about a week away, more roster cuts can be expected over the next few days.

The New What Next

Blake Snell will take the mound on Monday, in Dunedin, a little over a week after receiving a cortisone shot in his left elbow. He’ll be opposed by the Blue Jays’ ace, lefty Hyun-Jin Ryu.

Rays 3/9/20 Starting Lineup

  1. Tsutsugo 3B
  2. Martínez 1B
  3. Kiermaier CF
  4. Adames SS
  5. Wendle 2B
  6. Robertson DH
  7. Perez C
  8. LaMarre LF
  9. O’Grady RF
  10. Snell LHP

Noteworthiness

— Yoshi Tsutsugo will make his first start away from the Charlotte Sports Park on Monday.

Tsutsugo is slated to play third base against the Blue Jays — making his fourth start at the hot corner. Tsutsugo has put together a solid spring thus far, slashing .250 BA/.348 OBP/.450 SLG/.798 OPS with a home run and three RBI while splitting time between third base and left field.

— After throwing an impressive scoreless inning on Friday, two-way player Brendan McKay will make his first spring start on Thursday against the Phillies. McKay has yet to step into a batter’s box during an exhibition game this spring.

— The Rays and Austin Meadows have begun preliminary discussions about a potential extension. Per Marc Topkin (Tampa Bay Times), both sides are open to the possibility, although talks have not yet reached the exchange-of-numbers stage. Locking up the soon-to-be 25-year-old, who slashed .291 BA/.364 OBP/.558 SLG/.922 OPS with 33 home runs, 89 RBI, and a 142 wRC+ last season, would certainly be a boon for the ball club.

LBWMF: Chirinos and McKay impressive on Friday; notes on Morton and Honeywell

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Brendan McKay was strong in his first spring outing, on Friday.

Yonny Chirinos bounced back on the mound in his third start of the spring on Friday, while Brendan McKay was as impressive in his first Grapefruit League appearance.

Chirinos allowed just two hits while striking out a pair across three innings on 45 pitches (32 strikes, 71% strike rate). Chirinos topped out at 96 mph on the in house gun.

That was the first time that really this Spring I’ve been able to throw that hard. I didn’t expect it, but doing what I did in the off-season and the training that I did I feel like that’s been a result of it.

— Yonny Chirinos

McKay, who started late due to shoulder stiffness, was also impressive. After falling behind Jorge Polanco 3-and-0, the southpaw threw 10 of the next 13 pitches for strikes. He caught Josh Donaldson looking on a fastball, coaxed fly ball outs from Polanco and Marwin Gonzalez, and boasted a heater that peaked at 94 mph (and clocked in at 93-94 mph consistently) on 16 pitches (10 strikes, 63% strike rate). The only base runner McKay allowed came on an error, when he dropped Ji-Man Choi’s throw at first.

Felt good. Getting back out there, getting live competition, I was kind of going crazy just not being in there. But it is what it is, hopefully we’re passed it now and can move on and start preparing for a season now.

— Brendan McKay

McKay said he wants to be more conscious of adding a changeup, which he displayed on Friday, to his pitch mix.

Me being critical of myself, they weren’t as great as the one’s I’ve thrown before but that could’ve been the adrenaline. You’re trying to throw your best pitch and it doesn’t really turn out the way you want it and you’re taking away from the pitch itself rather than just letting it settle in and take over from there.

— Brendan McKay

McKay is a candidate to end up in the Opening Week rotation, especially if Blake Snell’s availability slightly in question … that is if he can get built up to a five-inning workload.

We’ve got plenty of time.

— Brendan McKay

Because of the shoulder stiffness that pushed him back a bit, Rays skipper Kevin Cash said the team will probably abandon the plan to move McKay from a six-day pitching schedule to the more standard five-day schedule to try to keep him healthy.

He’s going to be involved, in some way or form, he’ll be involved. We have to get him built up before we make those decisions.

— Kevin Cash

Even though Jose Alvarado allowed a fifth-inning run, the left-hander looked good once again. His lone tally came during what should have been a 1-2-3 frame, yet Tampa Bay could not convert a potential 3-1 putout.

USF product, LHP Shane McClanahan, dazzled once more, allowing just a single then striking out the next three batters he faced in the eighth inning. McClanahan’s fastball clocked in at 99 mph.

The left-hander has faced 26 batters across five games and struck out 10.

He’s fun to watch. A lot of talk about him for good reason.

— Kevin Cash

Cash also said he expects that McClanahan, who has been used in one-inning stints, to start the 2020 season as a starter. He is expected to get stretched out as the spring progresses.

The New What Next

The Rays will play host to the Orioles on Saturday and visit that team from Atlanta in split-squad play. Top prospect Wander Franco is listed as a reserve in the game against Atlanta. Sean Gilmartin is scheduled to start in Port Charlotte, while Joe Ryan will start the game against Atlanta.

Rays 3/7/20 Starting Lineup vs. BAL

  1. Meadows DH
  2. Adames SS
  3. B. Lowe 2B
  4. Diaz 3B
  5. Tsutsugo LF
  6. Martinez 1B
  7. Kiermaier CF
  8. Zunino C
  9. Margot RF
  10. Gilmartin LHP

Rays 3/7/20 Starting Lineup vs. ATL

  1. Arozarena LF
  2. Herrmann C
  3. Renfroe RF
  4. Choi 1B
  5. Wendle SS
  6. Robertson 2B
  7. Cozens DH
  8. Brosseau 2B
  9. LeMarre CF
  10. Ryan RHP

Noteworthiness

— Charlie Morton won’t make his scheduled start on Sunday, pitching instead in a simulated game on a backfield. The right-hander said it’s to give him a chance to build up his pitch count and innings in a controlled environment than avoiding the team he likely will face in the March 26 opener.

Morton plans to get to 60 pitches Sunday before he will throw again on the back fields to get to 75. From there, he is expected to pitch in a final regular spring game.

— Brent Honeywell “looked good” in his third bullpen session of the spring, Cash said. Honeywell mixed in about five changeups to his 20 pitch outing on Tuesday and Friday.

It has been kind of a long week, so a little tired, but everything is going well. … It’s bouncing back a little differently than Tommy John, so that’s good. Everything, as of right now, is on the right track. I like where I’m at right now.

— Brent Honeywell

LBWMF: Rays hurler Tyler Glasnow sharp in spite of apparent pitch tipping

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Tyler Glasnow threw 1-2/3 scoreless innings on Wednesday. (Photo Credit: Steve Carney/WDAE)

Tyler Glasnow looked good in his second spring start on Wednesday as the Tampa Bay Rays beat the Toronto Blue Jays, 9-5, at Charlotte Sports Park.

Glasnow tossed 1-2/3 scoreless frames while allowing two hits (one on the infield) while fanning three on 38 pitches (27 strikes, 71% strike rate). The right-hander leaned on his fastball — Glasnow threw 13 upper 90’s fastballs in the first inning alone — curveball, and splitter.

Glasnow also threw a 93 mph changeup in the first inning even though he called the pitch a “bad one”.

It’s enough of a drop (in velocity), I guess, if I’m throwing hard enough, and I feel like I should’ve gotten it down. I think early on (in Spring Training), I was just trying to get into the game rhythm, but I’ll probably mix it in a little bit more.

— Tyler Glasnow

Interestingly enough, Glasnow told Juan Toribio (MLB.com) that he has been mixing the location of his glove from pitch to pitch to put an end to his nasty habit of tipping pitches; something that got him into trouble in game five of the 2019 ALDS against the Astros. He mentioned that he consciously changes and alternates the glove’s placement after any given pitch. According to Glasnow, the adjustment requires some thought and strategy.

I’m pretty sure I’m not tipping at all. It’s something I’ll look at video tomorrow, but I’m fairly certain that it is taken care of.

— Tyler Glasnow

Yet, he may not like what he see’s when he looks at the video on Thursday, as it would appear he again is unconsciously tipping his pitches despite boasting pure, plus stuff.

As Dominik Vega (DRaysBay) pointed out, every fastball thrown by Glasnow had the line crossing through the glove, while the line was above the glove before every curveball is thrown.

That is to say, while his stuff was pretty nasty against Toronto, he still has a subtle yet noticeable tell that can be detected by batters.

At any rate, many positives came out of Glasnow’s start Wednesday afternoon.

Felt good, felt strong. It was nice to get an up today too so, just get ready for next week.

— Tyler Glasnow

Pitching coach Kyle Snyder also thought Diego Castillo looked sharp in his inning of work. Castillo looked like he was in mid-season form, hurling an efficient seven-pitch seven-pitch perfect frame.

Meanwhile, Tampa Bay scored four first-inning runs, taking advantage of five walks.

Hunter Renfroe looped a two-run single before Kevin Kiermaier added a pair on a two-run double. When all was said and done, nine different Rays had hits, while eight different players scored runs.

The New What Next

Ryan Yarbrough will make his third start of the spring when the Rays play host the Pittsburgh Pirates on Thursday. The southpaw, who hasn’t allowed a run in Grapefruit League play, is slated to throw three or four innings, depending on his pitch count. Nick Anderson and Andrew Kittredge are also scheduled to pitch.

Rays 3/5/20 Starting Lineup

  1. Meadows LF
  2. Diaz 3B
  3. Tsutsugo DH
  4. Martinez 1B
  5. Renfroe RF
  6. Wendle 2B
  7. Zunino C
  8. Margot CF
  9. Adames SS
  10. Yarbrough LHP

Noteworthiness

— Blake Snell (elbow soreness) threw for a second consecutive day and is on track to throw a bullpen session on Friday.

— After being hit by an errant foul ball, minor league outfielder Garrett Whitley (facial fracture) received good news on Wednesday. A specialist determined that Whitley does not need surgery. He will take about a week off to rest and could be ready around the start of the minor league season.

LBWMF: Morton solid in his second outing, Perez and Choi go yard, coronavirus impact on the Rays

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Ji-Man Choi went deep for the first time this spring on Monday. (Photo Credit: MLB.com)

Ji-Man Choi and Michael Perez went deep while Charlie Morton impressed in his second outing of the spring, as the Tampa Bay Rays tied the Baltimore Orioles on Monday, 3-3.

Morton put together a much stronger performance than his first, tossing 2-1/3 scoreless innings while striking out one.

He looked really good; really good. Really efficient, all the pitches looked good. … Very crisp outing by him.

— Kevin Cash

In his first outing of the Grapefruit League season, Morton threw just 11 pitches (five strikes, 45% strike rate), yet on Monday he was able to throw 28 pitches (15 strikes, 54% strike rate) in his second start against Baltimore. Morton, who was happy to work into the third inning, also got to work on his breaking balls, which is something he didn’t get a chance to do in his previous outing.

You can start to feel some fatigue there. Ups and downs are the most challenging because your body has become accustomed to that, kind of, cool down, heat up, cool down, it takes different stresses. I would rather have three ups and downs and throw 30 pitches than two innings and throw 45 [pitches]. I think that’s probably more beneficial.

— Charlie Morton

Morton said he was happy with how his curveball and his slider/cutter looked during the outing, while also remarking that he was pleased with his second start of the spring.

Didn’t walk anybody, didn’t hit anybody. All in all, a pretty decent day.

— Charlie Morton

You can hear Morton’s post outing interview in its entirety below, courtesy of Rays Radio.

In the batter’s box, Perez slugged his second home run of the spring in the fourth inning, a solo shot to left-center.

Perez is competing with Kevan Smith and Chris Herrmann to join Mike Zunino as one of the team’s two catchers. Through team translator Manny Navarro, Perez said he’s pleased with how the spring is going.

The goal is just to stay healthy. That’s my main goal. I do my work, and I trust my ability to use that into the game.

— Micahel Perez

Choi also went yard, hitting a two-run blast to left in the sixth inning after a two-out single to righty by Hunter Renfroe.

Meanwhile, Joey Wendle continued his hot spring campaign, adding a double while just missing his second long ball in as many days. Wendle told Neil Solondz (Rays Radio) he’s made some adjustments offensively, and that using his “hips as a hinge“ when swinging is yielding good results.

It’s something that’s kind of a work in progress but I think the result will be …. the swing plane will be more conducive to elevating balls and driving balls as opposed to hitting low line drives and ground balls. That’s certainly a part of my game. It’s certainly something I don’t want to lose but at the same time, I have a little more in the tank in terms of gap to gap and driving the ball a little more frequently that I have in the past.

— Joey Wendle

The New What Next

The Rays will travel to CoolToday Park in North Port to take on Atlanta for the second time this spring. Atlanta beat Tampa Bay, 12-0, on Saturday at Charlotte Sports Park. Left-hander Josh Fleming is scheduled to make his first start of the spring for Tampa Bay. We will post the starting lineup upon availability.

Rays 3/3/20 Starting Lineup

  1. B. Lowe 2B
  2. Martínez 1B
  3. Kiermaier CF
  4. Díaz DH
  5. N. Lowe 3B
  6. Zunino C
  7. Adames SS
  8. LaMarre RF
  9. Cozens LF
  10. Fleming LHP

Noteworthiness

— In an article for MLB.com, Juan Toribio writes the Rays aim to prevent coronavirus in camp.

With the coronavirus spreading into the United States, the Rays have begun to take some necessary steps in order to try and prevent the virus from affecting anyone in their Spring Training facility in Port Charlotte, Fla.

The club sent out a memo on Monday, reminding players, coaches and everyone involved with the team to be cautious. The memo encouraged everyone to be more mindful of washing and sanitizing their hands. They’ve also been encouraged to not high-five or shake hands, at least for the moment.

“I think we all have to take the precautionary measurements to do what we can,” manager Kevin Cash said. “We want to do everything we can to prevent anything like that from happening.”

The virus originated from China, but has since spread to South Korea, Italy, Iran, Japan, the United States and 61 other countries. On Sunday night, there were two reported cases in Florida: one in the Sarasota area, where the Rays played on Monday, and one in Hillsborough County.

Ji-Man Choi, whose mother and brother are living in South Korea, hasn’t been directly impacted by the coronavirus and his family is safe, but he’s keeping a close eye on what’s happening in his country.

“I’m very worried that this infection isn’t slowing down at all,” Choi said, through interpreter Steve Nam. “I am worried with all the Asian countries — Korea, Japan, China — so hopefully this all ends soon. That’s what I’m praying for.”

Choi added that he has offered his family a trip to the United States until the situation back home clears up. But because his town hasn’t been impacted, he hasn’t felt the need to try and move his family.

However, in order to remain cautious with the situation, Choi is asking all Korean media to do interviews outside the clubhouse, at least until there’s more information on the virus.

“I just want to be cautious, especially around the players,” Choi said. “I know it’s very important for them to have a great season and I don’t want to be affected by any of that, so I’m just being cautious with the Korean media.”

Yoshi Tsutsugo, who was born in Japan, also said his family is fine, but they remain cautious and vigilant of the news. Tsutsugo said he underwent quick testing for his temperature when he arrived from Japan last month, just to make sure that he didn’t have a fever.

Like Choi, Tsutsugo also expressed concern with the current situation, but also added that his family and friends have not been impacted.

“Of course I’m worried,” Tsutsugo said, through team interpreter Louis Chao. “But so far none of my friends and family have gotten the coronavirus, so that’s a good thing. But still, not just my friends and family, I hope everyone in Japan can get through all of this.”

— Speaking of coronavirus, according to the Associated Press officials from the National Basketball Association, National Hockey League and Major League Baseball says they are all consulting with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and other organizations on a regular basis about COVID-19.

There are no immediate plans to cancel or postpone games or have them held in empty stadiums or arenas. Some of those contingencies have been taken in other countries, including Italy, where soccer matches were postponed until May.

Pro sports in the U.S., for now, are going on as scheduled, though leagues are closely monitoring the situation. The NBA and NHL are in their regular seasons and MLB in spring training in Arizona and Florida with Opening Day less than a month away.