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McCutchen upset with Marlins: 'We did everything right and we paid for it'

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The Miami Marlins' COVID-19 outbreak compromised several other teams, none more severely than the Philadelphia Phillies - and outfielder Andrew McCutchen is not pleased with the way things shook out.

"I was upset at everything that's transpired through that - whoever decided to step out or not necessarily follow the health and safety protocol," McCutchen told The Athletic's Jayson Stark on the "Starkville" podcast Monday. "That upset me. What made me angry was that we, as the Phillies - we were the ones that ended up having to pay for that."

The Phillies hosted the Marlins on July 26, facing Miami after it had already learned of some positive test results. Neither team had played since that contest until Philadelphia took the field against the New York Yankees on Monday night.

"We followed all of the health and safety protocols," McCutchen added. "We knew that was important. We understood that's what we needed to do to be able to play this game. And we did everything right. And we paid for it."

The Marlins are set to return to action Tuesday against the Baltimore Orioles after more than 20 Miami players and staff tested positive. Team CEO Derek Jeter on Monday chalked the issue up to complacency and said his team has to be more vigilant going forward.

A second outbreak has since hit MLB, with the St. Louis Cardinals in quarantine after 13 positive tests wiped out their weekend series against the Milwaukee Brewers and their upcoming set against the Detroit Tigers.

Still, as upset as McCutchen is, he said none of it comes as much of a surprise.

"We knew that this could happen," he said. "And quite frankly, we knew that it was inevitable. Inevitable. We knew that this probably was going to happen, considering that everyone's coming from every single place. On buses, planes, hotels.

"Like literally coming from everywhere, and (MLB is) saying like, 'All right, stay healthy as much as you can.' … That's a really hard thing."

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