Dodgers: Positive tests reminder 2020 season will be won off the field

The success of the Los Angeles Dodgers season could rest on their medical staff.

Los Angeles Dodgers president Andrew Friedman met with the media on Thursday and revealed the team has had some members of the organization test positive for coronavirus.

While no further details were provided – and none are needed – it’s a reminder of the new reality teams face as they prepare to play amid a global pandemic.

Anyone tracking the virus in the news knows that it’s not a matter of if players will get it, but when, and how far will it spread?

How the Dodgers respond to positive cases will dictate their success in containing the virus.

While Friedman has put together an impressive roster of talent to compete for a world championship over a shortened 60-game schedule, the success of the Dodgers will rest in the hands of the medical staff and the overall organizational commitment to following CDC guidelines in protecting players from exposure to the novel coronavirus.

"“Part of the challenge here is there are a lot of unknowns,” Friedman said, as transcribed by ESPN. “I think there’s no question we’re gonna have a decent number of positive tests in spring training and the season. And to me it’s much more about how quick we are to respond to that, the treatment options, the quarantining part of it, making sure it doesn’t spread among the group. And to the extent that we can contain it, and we have really good health-and-safety protocols in place, collectively, as a group, everyone working together, I think it’s something we can manage.”"

We are entering uncharted territory as major league teams report to spring training 2.0 with their hopes of playing a season weighted down by 108 pages of health protocols designed to keep players safe as they return to work.

A lot of questions remain unanswered.

What happens if several players test positive for the virus two weeks into camp? How many players need to test positive before everything is shut down again?

What happens during the season? Could the Dodgers be getting ready to play a big game down the stretch and suddenly lose five players to isolation because they are displaying worrisome symptoms?

Assuming the entire league doesn’t shut back down if a few teams are suddenly impacted by increasing cases, the real competition this season will be how individual clubs are able to keep their players healthy, something they have incentive to do in order to keep them on the field, but more importantly, they have the responsibility to keep their people from getting sick.

Some debate whether a 60-game season is legitimate to crown a champion. When you consider the obstacles teams need to overcome even to play this season, and then to play in a way that keeps the virus from spreading throughout the clubhouse, it is certainly legitimate to call the best team at the end of the season a champion.

It’s ironic we have spent so much time wanting baseball to return to the field, and now the success of the season depends on what teams do mostly off the field. But this is life in 2020.