Players on both the Marlins and Pirates had expressed concern about the two-game series because of the virus.
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In a statement, Major League Baseball (MLB) and the Major League Baseball Players Association (MLBPA) said Commissioner of Baseball Robert D Manfred Jr “had no choice” but to relocate the games because so many players had partners who were pregnant or trying to become pregnant.
Because of concerns about the Zika virus, a number of players on each team objected to playing in San Juan on May 30 and 31, so Commissioner Rob Manfred agreed to move the series.
The two games will now be played at Marlins Park at 7:10 p.m. each day.
Zika, primarily spread by mosquitoes, has hit more than 40 countries and territories with Brazil, host of this year’s Summer Olympics, so far the hardest hit.
“You trust the process that the union and league is going to do what’s best for everyone”, Marlins manager Don Mattingly said.
Both the players and staff received full briefings from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on the disease earlier this week.
“Go visit my handsome Puerto Rico!!”.
Major League Baseball and the Players Association said they “did everything possible” to address the concerns and keep the games in Puerto Rico, but despite extensive efforts were unable to develop a workable solution.
Puerto Rico recorded its first death from Zika last week.
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Puerto Rico missed almost $370 million on a bond payment Monday and officials warned of worse to come without relief from Congress. Garcia Padilla said he had no choice but to suspend the debt payment to avoid cutting essential public services such as schools and medical care.
