Phillies Facing Competitive Disadvantage

The Phillies season has been quarantined, sitting out this weekend, in what was supposed to see them face-off with the Toronto Blue Jays at Citizens Bank Park.

That's not happening.

While no Phillies players tested positive for COVID-19, a member of the coaching staff and a clubhouse staff forced the team to cancel all activities at the ballpark on Thursday and for the immediate future.

So what does this mean for the 1-2 Phillies moving forward? Could Major League Baseball force other teams to pause their season?

According to Jim Salisbury of NBC Sports Philadelphia, MLB officials are not quite ready to shut down the season at this point, and want to try to get this 60-game season completed.

"They look at this as an isolated problem," Salisbury told NBC Philadelphia's SportsNet Central.

With the weekend series with the Blue Jays postponed, the team is hopeful they can continue their season on Monday against the Yankees.

What about a competitive disadvantage?

The Phillies have played just three games, and not one since Sunday.  Most MLB teams, other than the Marlins, have completed anywhere from five-to-seven games.

If and when the Phillies return to the field, if it is in fact on Monday night, they would not have played a game in eight days.  Meaning pitchers have not thrown, hitters have not faced any live pitching, while others teams are staying in their routines.

As it stands now, for the Phillies to complete their 60-game sprint, they would have to push even harder, playing 57 games in 56 days to get that done.