At least one player in Dodgers’ organization tests positive for virus.

Friedman says NL West favorites have been hit by the virus, with at least one player positive.

The deep and versatile Dodgers might seem more suited for the marathon of a traditional six-month regular season, but that shouldn’t make them more vulnerable to lesser clubs in a pandemic-shortened, twomonth season.

What might make them — and the rest of baseball — vulnerable is continual positive tests for COVID-19. Andrew Friedman, the president of baseball operations, said Thursday members of the organization have tested positive but he declined to specify the number or place within the franchise.

Friedman did acknowledge at least one player tested positive. He added he is unsure if positive tests by any players will prevent them from joining the team for the start of training at Dodger Stadium. He said none of the cases “have resulted in symptoms that have been problematic.” Players report July 1 and Friedman said the club’s first official workout is scheduled for July 3.

“I think there’s no question we’re going to have a lot of positive tests in spring training and during the season,” Friedman said. “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.”

Once the Dodgers are on the field, the outlook should be brighter. Manager Dave Roberts said the team’s depth plays just as well in a 60-game sprint as a 162game marathon.

“I think the [designated hitter] will allow us to tap into our depth on the position-player side, and we have a bench that is more than capable of taking on a certain matchup we see as beneficial,” Roberts said. “On the pitching side, you don’t know how [starters] will be built up, so to be able to tap into our depth there makes sense.”

The Dodgers did not build a National League West dynasty on talent alone. Their seven consecutive division titles since 2013 also were fueled by the depth among pitchers and position players, and the ability to create favorable matchups on a nightly basis.

That won’t change as players return to Dodger Stadium next week for a second training camp in preparation for a shorter season scheduled to begin about July 24.

Friedman said the club is finalizing a deal to hold its alternate training site — where up to 30 players can work out during the season — at USC. He said he expects the site would be moved to the organization’s

Class-A affiliate in Rancho Cucamonga should students return to campus.

A rotation of Walker Buehler, Clayton Kershaw, David Price, Alex Wood and Julio Urias will have capable starters such as Ross Stripling, Dustin May, Tony Gonsolin and Jimmy Nelson in reserve — if Nelson recovers from lower-back injuries that slowed him in February and March.

A bullpen anchored by veteran closer Kenley Jansen will have an abundance of flame-throwing, right-handed setup men in Blake Treinen, Pedro Baez, Joe Kelly and Brusdar Graterol, and left-handed options in Adam Kolarek, Scott Alexander and Caleb Ferguson.

The Dodgers have one of baseball’s most prolific outfields with 2019 NL most valuable player Cody Bellinger in center and 2018 American League MVP Mookie Betts, acquired from the Boston Red Sox, in right.

A starting infield of Max Muncy (first base), Gavin Lux (second), Corey Seager (shortstop) and Justin Turner (third) will be backed up by the righthanded-hitting Kiké Hernández and Chris Taylor — who can play three infield positions and the outfield — and left-handed-hitting Matt Beaty, a corner infielder and outfielder.

It will be imperative for teams with World Series aspirations to start well — not always a given with the Dodgers, who won division titles despite 60-game starts of 3030 in 2018, 32-28 in 2016, 31-29 in 2014 and 27-33 in 2013.

But Friedman believes the Dodgers turned a mental corner with a 41-19 start en route to a franchise-record 106 wins last season.

“I think the most important thing is our players’ mind-set,” he said. “We’ve seen it over the last couple years, the culture change that has happened with Doc and the coaches.”

Spikes in COVID-19 infections in and out of baseball are troubling, however.

The Dodgers join a growing list of organizations that have acknowledged positive cases, including the Angels, Philadelphia Phillies, Toronto Blue Jays, Minnesota Twins and Colorado Rockies.

The league and the players union agreed on a health and safety protocol that produced an operations manual that effectively orders every person involved in the league to change their behavior from the ground up with temperature checks conducted at least twice a day and COVID-19 tests administered every other day.

And yet, despite meticulous measures that include prohibiting spitting and high-fives, the experiment’s success ultimately will depend on participants selfpolicing.

The operations manual states individuals must “ensure they all act responsibly” but it doesn’t include official restrictions on what players, coaches or anyone else involved are allowed to do away from stadiums.