The Miami Marlins and Pittsburgh Pirates are to find out in the next few days whether they will play in Puerto Rico this month.
MLB commissioner Rob Manfred on Thursday said that the announcement on whether the two-game series will be moved because of concerns about the Zika virus was to be made yesterday or Monday “at the latest.”
The teams are scheduled to play on May 30 and May 31 in San Juan to celebrate Roberto Clemente Day, a league-wide tribute honoring the late Pirates Hall of Famer and Puerto Rico native.
Photo: AP
However, with players on both sides expressing concern about Zika, the games might be moved to Miami, as the Marlins are the designated home team.
“We are in the process of still having discussions with a variety of interested parties, mostly outside the game ... before we make a final decision and announcement,” Manfred said in Chicago before Thursday’s game between the White Sox and the Boston Red Sox.
US health officials say Puerto Rico is the front lines of the nation’s battle with Zika.
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has said Zika can cause a birth defect called microcephaly, where infants are born with unusually small heads. The virus is most often spread by mosquito bites, but it also can be spread through sexual intercourse.
Manfred said he also expects a decision soon on suspended Colorado shortstop Jose Reyes, echoing comments he made last month.
Three weeks ago, a Hawaii judge approved dismissing a domestic abuse charge stemming from an incident on Oct. 31 last year with his wife at a Maui resort. The judge gave prosecutors about two years to refile charges if Reyes’ wife cooperates — something she has not been doing.
Reyes was suspended with pay under baseball’s new domestic abuse policy, an action Manfred took just before the shortstop was to report to spring training.
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