New York: Add another casualty to the Coronavirus testing protocols of Major League Baseball. The Yankees announced Saturday that closer Aroldis Chapman will not be with the team for the immediate future after testing positive for COVID-19.
Chapman, a MVP Latino Sports AL Reliever recipient, is the third Yankee to come up positive.
“He is experiencing mild symptoms,: said manager Aaron Boone about the 32-year old Cuban and six-time All-Star. Chapman will now have to undergo two tests that have to be negative in a 24-hour span before he can rejoin the Yankees.
Boone, in the new norm of Zoom video conferencing with the media, said the Yankees are adhering to all medical protocols and there are not further positive results of players in Summer Camp at Yankee Stadium.
An agreement with teams and players also states a positive COVID test result can be held from the media and public. Chapman, is one of the few that have tested positive and granted the Yankees permission to release his name.
There have been minor setbacks in this first week of Yankees Summer camp. Infielder DJ LeMahieu and right-hander Luis Cessa are isolated at home after testing positive for COVID-19, and results of further testing will dictate their return.
Masahiro Tankaka, concussion protocol, will be monitored next week. There is hope the right-hander will resume throwing next week after taking that fall on the mound off a Giancarlo Stanton liner.
Friday, according to MLB, 27 of 30 teams had a person test positive for COVID. The Yankees were one of those teams through the final round of the intake screening process. Players and personnel will now get tested every other day.
Medical protocols are followed. MLB has made it known that strict guidelines are in place to adhere with those safety guidelines.
Otherwise, it has been business as usual for the Yankees with the unusual circumstances of preparing for a season in the Bronx and ongoing global pandemic. They are basically at full strength for their potential and hopeful season opener at the Nationals Thursday evening July 23.
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