Jesse Dougherty and Dave Sheinin of The Washington Post report that the Nationals could play their home games at alternative locations, such as Fredericksburg, due to municipal COVID-19 regulations. According to city protocols, people must quarantine for 14 days if they are exposed to someone who has coronavirus. The city won’t make any exceptions for the Nationals. That has the Nationals unsure they can compete throughout the 2020 regular season, which spans about nine weeks.
The Nationals open the season on July 23 against the Yankees, which is expected to feature Max Scherzer against Gerrit Cole. The Nationals are the home team, but the location of the game is still being determined.
Along with Fredericksburg, home to their Single-A affiliate, the Nationals could play at their spring training facility in West Palm Beach, Florida. However, that is likely the Nationals’ last resort as Florida has seen a dramatic surge in COVID-19 cases in recent weeks. Virginia, home to Fredericksburg, has had a slight uptick in cases but not at the same scale as Florida.
The Dodgers are also dealing with municipal regulations that are complicating things. However, per Jorge Castillo of The Los Angeles Times, the Dodgers aren’t considering playing their home games elsewhere. Like Florida, California has also seen a surge in COVID-19 cases lately.
