D-backs’ Torey Lovullo mindful of COVID-19 as Marlins see outbreak

Arizona Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo is concerned. But that’s not because of what happened with the Miami Marlins on Monday.

“I’m concerned in general. I’m concerned today like I was last week,” he told reporters in a Zoom call on Monday. “This virus is very real, and we have to respect what it can do in this particular situation, I’m aware of. We have to operate that way.

“The thing that I’m continuing to do is just hammer down on what we need to do inside of our own space to stay healthy and avoid this virus. And that’s where we’re at right now. To be totally transparent, last night, we got our testing results, we had zero positives, so I’m proud of our guys for believing in what the message is and understanding that this is a very serious situation.”

It became known Monday that the Miami Marlins had a substantial outbreak in coronavirus cases on their squad, reportedly at least 14 players. Their Monday game against the Baltimore Orioles was subsequently postponed. The Philadelphia Phillies’ game against the Yankees was also postponed because the Phillies played Miami this weekend.

“I know that they are walking through a really tough time, and they’re probably trying to figure out what their next steps are, and I empathize when them. I know that it’s extremely frustrating. I don’t know what that answer looks like, and I’m hoping we never have to get to that point.”

Lovullo’s remarks were just before the team was set to play the San Diego Padres in their series finale in San Diego. After that, the team flies to Texas to play the Rangers in a two-game series before returning to Arizona for the home opener.

“The first plane trip, when we flew to L.A. for our exhibition games and the first time I stepped into another place where I was going to lay my head down and sleep, it was very awkward,” Lovullo said. “I disinfected the room and did everything that I was supposed to do based on what the protocols were and what our trainers had advised us to do.

“Getting on the plane and going to Texas, I don’t have as much anxiety, and I think our team feels the same way. So the reason why I’m bringing that up is I do want to piggy-back that with: Let’s not get complacent, we had a successful weekend and we were successful because we have done everything that we’re supposed to. Nobody’s going out, we’re staying in the hotel, we’re washing our hands, we’re wearing our masks when we have to and I did send several reminders this morning.”

Follow @mattjlayman