Passan reports that players on both teams have informed Major League Baseball they would prefer to move the series to Miami given health concerns. A 70-year-old man from Puerto Rico died in February after complications due to the Zika virus, which marked the first death related to the infection in a US territory.
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A person familiar with the situation says there’s a very good chance the Miami Marlins’ two-game series against the Pittsburgh Pirates in Puerto Rico will not be held there because of concerns about the Zika virus.
The CDC has issued an alert for travel to areas of the world in which the disease is spreading.
Yahoo Sports is reporting that Major League Baseball is reportedly close to canceling the trip completely.
The threat of contracting the virus didn’t keep about 100 scouts and baseball executives away this week to scout prospects in Puerto Rico, particularly high school shortstop Delvin Perez.
At this point, it’s unclear where the games would be played instead – though, geographically, it would make sense to shift the series to Miami.
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Interestingly enough, this virus outbreak could also have an impact on the upcoming 2016 Summer Olympics in Brazil, one of the countries affected by Zika.
