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The Washington Nationals and Philadelphia Phillies will not play tonight’s game, according to Jeff Passan. The game has been postponed due to a COVID outbreak in the Nationals organization. Here’s some more info from MLB via Ken Rosenthal:
Rationale for Nationals-Phillies postponement, per MLB: While Nats have reached 85 percent vaccinated threshold, multiple people with club tested positive. League prefers to be cautious when game can be made up easily as part of single-admission double-header tomorrow.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) July 28, 2021
Nationals star Trea Turner tested positive for the virus yesterday before a handful of players and coaches returned positive tests today. According to Passan, this could be the biggest outbreak of the virus in MLB so far this season. The Nationals are among the teams to reach MLB’s 85 percent threshold for vaccination to relax protocols.
This will certainly have an impact on Washington’s bid to contend for the NL East or sell pieces as the trade deadline nears. Turner, Max Scherzer and Kyle Schwarber will be hot commodities on the market for teams looking to bolster their rosters ahead of the final playoff push.
The Nationals are currently +2500 to win the division according to DraftKings Sportsbook. The Phillies, who have reportedly not yet been affected by the outbreak, are +475 to win the NL East.