Spring games called, season delayed at least two weeks (updated)

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - The Nationals and Yankees are underway, with the first sellout crowd of the spring packed into FITTEAM Ballpark of the Palm Beaches to watch this exhibition game.

How long this game continues, though, is very much in question.

As sporting events around the country are canceled due to the coronavirus, Major League Baseball reportedly is on the verge of suspending spring training. Commissioner Rob Manfred was on a conference call with club owners this afternoon, according to ESPN, and an announcement appears to be imminent.

In the meantime, the games are going on across Florida and here in West Palm Beach, where Patrick Corbin threw a fastball to Mike Tauchman at 1:06 p.m. on a gorgeous, 81-degree March afternoon.

The largest crowd of the spring filed in, excited to see the defending World Series champs against the visiting Yankees (or, more accurately, mostly Yankees minor leaguers who made the three-hour drive from Tampa). Fan favorite D.C. Washington sang the national anthem and received his customary round of applause as he finished the tune.

For now, everyone is trying to keep their focus on the field, even though everyone admits that's not easy to do.

"They know what's going on," manager Davey Martinez said this morning. "The biggest thing is: Let's get through today, and then see where it takes us. The last thing you want is to have somebody go out there, and all of a sudden their mind is (elsewhere) and they end up getting hurt. That's my big concern: They worry about something that right now we don't control. Let's control the control-ables, get yourself ready."

Max Scherzer, the Nationals' player rep and one of eight players on the union's executive subcommittee, said the entire club met with ownership this morning to outline the potential scenarios in play. Speaking with reporters shortly before noon, the three-time Cy Young Award winner stressed that the situation remained very much in flux but suggested he expected MLB to suspend spring training soon, perhaps later today.

Scherzer said his teammates want to keep playing but also recognize the gravity of the situation and will take all of their cues from medical experts and government officials who have been recommending the cancelation of public gatherings with large crowds like sporting events, concerts and political rallies.

"At the end of the day, that's why the experts are going to make the decision on this ... not players, not managers, not owners, not even MLB," Scherzer said. "They are going to be listening to the experts and everybody is going to be following what the experts say."

The revelation Wednesday night that Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert tested positive for the COVID-19 virus struck major league ballplayers especially hard. Scherzer didn't shy away from admitting the reality of the situation: MLB players are going to get the virus as well, if they haven't already.

"I think we'd be kind of naive to think that there's not one player in any one of the camps across MLB right now that has not contracted it yet," Scherzer said. "You've got to think here that somebody probably has it. It's just going to matter at what point now. That's what kind of the experts are projecting here with this outbreak. So, how are we going to handle that? That's the direction of the medical experts and how MLB wants to handle that. We're going to obviously follow their guidance."

Update: It's now official: MLB will suspend the rest of spring training games, beginning at 4 p.m. Eastern, and delay the start of the regular season at least two weeks.

"Nothing is more important to us than the health and safety of our players, employees and fans," the league said in a statement announcing its decision. "MLB will continue to undertake the precautions and best practices recommended by public health experts."

At this point, the league has only announced that spring training games have been canceled. It's not yet clear if teams and players will remain in Florida and Arizona and continue to work out on their own, and it appears a decision on that may not come for another day or more.

"MLB will continue to evaluate ongoing events leading up to the start of the season," the league said. "Guidance related to daily operations and workouts will be relayed to Clubs in the coming days."

The two-week delay to the start of the regular season will affect the Nationals' first four scheduled series, all against the Mets and Marlins: an opening road trip to New York (March 26-29) and Miami (March 30-April 1) and the opening homestand against New York (April 2-5) and Miami (April 6-8). If the season began after that - and that's not yet determined - the Nationals are scheduled to play at the Dodgers April 10-12, then at the Mariners April 13-14. They then return home to face the Cubs on April 16.

None of that will be officially decided, though, for some time.

"MLB and the Clubs have been preparing a variety of contingency plans regarding the 2020 regular season schedule," the league said. "MLB will announce the effects on the schedule at an appropriate time and will remain flexible as events warrant, with the hope of resuming normal operations as soon as possible."