Jim Salisbury at NBC Sports Philadelphia is reporting that five Phillies players who had been training in Clearwater tested positive for COVID-19.

Writes Salisbury, citing multiple sources:

In addition to the five players, three staff members have tested positive. The identities of those infected is not known.

A significant number of team personnel are awaiting test results so it’s possible the outbreak could worsen.

None of the eight people who have been infected have been hospitalized and the virus appears to be under control in all of them.

As if the MLB vs. Players Association stalemate wasn’t bad enough, now this news.

Sounds like all of these players/staffers will be fine, but it just fuels the argument that we shouldn’t be playing sports right now, or that we shouldn’t be in Florida. You’ve got the Union resuming play in Orlando on July 8th and the Sixers are expected to begin down there on July 30th. It looks pretty weird to be resuming these leagues in a spot where cases continue to spike, and now a bunch of Phils are dealing with COVID as well.

Here’s the full Salisbury story:


Breaking: Coronavirus outbreak at Phillies camp in Clearwater

Update here with some new info from Scott Lauber at the Inquirer: