Axios

MLB Commissioner Robert Manfred announced Friday that the 2021 All-Star Game will be moved out of Atlanta due to Georgia's law curbing voting access, which will disproportionately affect people of color.

What they're saying: "Major League Baseball fundamentally supports voting rights for all Americans and opposes restrictions to the ballot box," Manfred said in a statement.

Major League Baseball has postponed its opening series between the Washington Nationals and New York Mets to double down on testing and contact tracing for Nationals players, coaches and staff, the league announced Friday.

Why it matters: After three Nationals players tested positive for the coronavirus this week, MLB is taking precautions to prevent further delays.

Our Tampa Bay Rays are back again.

The question on everyone's minds: How will they fare a year after winning the AL East for the first time in years and ousting the Blue Jays, Yankees and Astros in the playoffs before losing the World Series to the Dodgers in Game 6?

• If history serves: After finishing 2008 with 97 wins and 65 losses and a World Series appearance (we see you, Philly), the Rays took a step back the following year, finishing third and missing the playoffs.
• This year's team has a bunch of questions marks, and that should make for a fun season. Almost always does.

Here's what the experts are thinking:

• The Tampa Bay Times' John Romano: "It may not be the classic model of five starters combining for 750 innings or more — the way the Dodgers, Yankees, Padres and Nationals will likely do it — and the Rays are not making any top-10 lists of MLB rotations, but don’t be shocked to see Tampa Bay in a familiar place come September."
• FiveThirtyEight predicts they'll finish with a 88-74 record and have a 51% chance of making the playoffs, a 21% chance of winning the division, and a 4% of winning the World Series.
• 30 of ESPN's 37 baseball experts picked the Yankees to win the AL East, with just 3 going for the Rays. "While the Yankees certainly face formidable competition from the Rays, the upstart Blue Jays and potentially the Red Sox, I think their top-tier talent will win out," wrote Joon Lee.

If you're thinking about going to a game, the Rays fall on the higher end of the pack in terms of COVID-era capacity — and they do play in the MLB's only fully enclosed stadium:

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The hosts of both of the two biggest global sporting events on the 2022 calendar are facing boycott threats, but they're handling the scrutiny much differently.

Driving the news: When European qualifying for the 2022 World Cup kicked off last week, players from three countries seized the opportunity to protest the human rights conditions in host nation Qatar.

The Washington Nationals-New York Mets Opening Day game, which was set to kick off in the nation's capital on Thursday night, will reportedly be postponed due to COVID-19 protocols, per ESPN's Buster Olney.

Why it matters: More than one year after the first professional sports game was canceled due to COVID-19, it's a reminder that the pandemic is still disrupting everyday life — especially as fourth wave of infections driven by new variants looms over the country.

Baseball is back, America. After a 60-game season in 2020, this year's complete 162-game schedule begins this afternoon in the Bronx.

Driving the news: MLB saw just 17 positive tests out of 72,751 conducted (0.02%) last Friday. But five Nationals are currently in quarantine due to a positive test — a reminder of how fragile any sense of stability will be.

President Biden told ESPN in an interview broadcast Wednesday he'd back Major League Baseball moving its 2021 All-Star Game out of Atlanta over Georgia's new voting restrictions — which he called "Jim Crow on steroids."

Driving the news: ESPN's Sage Steele asked Biden what he thought about leading MLB figures looking to relocate the game over Georgia's law. Biden replied, "Today's professional athletes are acting incredibly responsibly. I would strongly support them doing that. People look to them, they're leaders."

Go deeper: Biden calls Georgia's voting restrictions "Jim Crow in the 21st Century"

On the eve of the MLB regular season's start, Washington Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo announced a player has tested positive for COVID-19, and four teammates and a staffer are in quarantine.

Why it matters: Major League Baseball is still reeling from the impact of the coronavirus last season, when sponsor revenue plummeted by up to 60% and players' salary also fell, as the pandemic shortened the season.