'Baseball Right Now is Very Clearly Secondary'; Texas Rangers Shut Down Camp in Arizona

One day after deciding as a team to unify together and stay put in Surprise, the Rangers are now shutting down camp in Surprise.

After a New York Yankees Minor League player tested positive for COVID-19, Major League Baseball released a memo to club owners and executives that strongly recommended clubs to avoid team activities.

"The strong recommendation from our infectious disease and public health experts is that Clubs should avoid all activities in which players congregate in significant numbers or are otherwise unable to practice the "social distancing" protocols recommended by the CDC. The risk of a player in a Club facility contracting the virus is real, and we must implement protocols to protect the safety and well-being of our players and staff members. In addition, we must recognize that there is the potential for further federal and state restrictions that will impact our operations, including restrictions on travel."

-Major League Baseball

The memo also goes on to tell clubs that players are still currently allowed to use team Spring Training facilities. However, clubs are not allowed to hold or organize any group workouts, sessions, or other player activities at their facilities.

"I'm really proud of the response of the group overall," Rangers GM Jon Daniels told the media via conference call on Sunday. "Everyone understands it is what it is. As much as we would like to continue to build on a lot of the good things we had going on, baseball right now is very clearly secondary. We're all getting the same information. Publicly, everyone understands the significance of the situation. The guys got it, there was no real push back...It's not what anybody wants, but it's the right thing to do."

Thankfully, no Rangers players have had to be tested for COVID-19 or show any symptoms that would require testing.

Five or six Rangers players that reside in Arizona will remain at their homes there, while 15-20 players take a charter flight back to DFW on Monday. A few players who live in North Texas will also drive their cars home. Due to the restrictions on flights, 20-30 Venezuelan minor league players will have to stay put at Rangers Village in Surprise. Some of the other minor league players have begun leaving the complex already.

The Rangers have yet to decide what to do in regards to compensation for their minor league players and seasonal staff, though that decision is coming soon. Obviously, it is a very critical issue that has to be addressed, but with this situation still being only a few days old, the primary focus has been the health and safety of their players.

It's an unprecedented time in sports, with nearly everything at a stand still. As we reported earlier, the Rangers' focus has been on the health and safety of their players and staff. Baseball has clearly taken a back seat to the very fluid circumstance the country is in right now.

"My head's not even there," Daniels said. "It might've been a few days ago, but we're pretty solely focused on making sure everyone has what they need, that they get their families taken care of, and get everybody home. We're going to have plenty of time to figure out the baseball season."

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