Yankees’ All-Star closer Aroldis Chapman tests positive for coronavirus - Tampa Bay Times

NEW YORK — Yankees All-Star closer Aroldis Chapman has tested positive for the coronavirus and is experiencing mild symptoms.

New York manager Aaron Boone said Saturday that Chapman “overall is doing well” but “will not be here for the foreseeable future.”

The AL East champions are scheduled to start the virus-delayed season on July 23 at Washington.

Chapman threw a bullpen session Tuesday, and Boone wouldn’t comment on whether the left-hander had been at Yankee Stadium since. Boone said the team had done contact tracing, and no other players or personnel would be forced to isolate because of Chapman’s positive test.

“We’re following all protocols,” Boone said. “We have not had any other positive tests. We adhere to all the contact tracing things. We feel like we’ve handled it and are handling it.

“Again, you know, this is something that even moving forward, a positive test is probably going to come our way. It’s about doing all the things that hopefully as a whole keep us safe and healthy,” he said.

Through the first week of monitor testing across all 30 major-league camps, 17 out of 7,401 samples produced positives, a 0.2 percent rate that is far below the national average of around 9 percent. Atlanta star Freddie Freeman, Kansas City catcher Salvador Perez, Colorado outfielder Charlie Blackmon and Texas slugger Joey Gallo are among the players to miss time due to COVID-19.

The list now includes the 32-year-old Chapman, a six-time All-Star with 273 career saves, including 37 last season when he had a 2.21 ERA and was named AL reliever of the year.

New York is also without infielder DJ LeMahieu and right-hander Luis Cessa, who both tested positive prior to the start of preseason camp last week and are still isolating at home.

“It’s obviously just another reminder,” Boone said, “that we have to be vigilant as far as wearing our masks when possible, the distance, the decisions we’re making away from the field, to best we can stay out of harm’s way.”

The Yankees will open their regular season against the World Series champion Nationals. If Chapman isn’t back by the opener, Boone said left-hander Zack Britton would be a “natural guy” to replace him, but a formal decision hasn’t been made. The 32-year-old Britton has 145 career saves, most coming with Baltimore from 2014-17.

“Britton has been an elite closer in this game for a long time,” Boone said.

In other Yankees news, hours after Chapman’s diagnosis, Yankees slugger Aaron Judge was scratched from a simulated game with a stiff neck.

The 2017 AL rookie of the year was set to bat second and play rightfield but was taken out of the lineup shortly before first pitch. Judge declared himself “game ready” earlier this week after being diagnosed with a broken rib in March. The 6-foot-7 slugger used the shutdown to get healthy and had been swinging at full strength for at least a couple of weeks before reporting for preseason camp last week.

Right-handed starter Masahiro Tanaka played catch on the field, one week after he was hit in the head by a 112 mph line drive off the bat of Giancarlo Stanton. Tanaka is still in concussion protocol, and the club doesn’t yet have a timeline for his return to the mound. Boone said Tanaka is responding well to treatment and testing.

–––

By JAKE SEINER

• • •

HOW CORONAVIRUS IS SPREADING IN FLORIDA: Find the latest numbers for your county, city or zip code.

LATEST ON CORONAVIRUS: Six things we’ve learned about the coronavirus since March.

MASK UPDATE: Find out where you have to wear a mask in Tampa Bay

FILING TAXES?: What to know about the July 15 tax deadline

GET THE DAYSTARTER MORNING UPDATE: Sign up to receive the most up-to-date information.

THE CORONAVIRUS SCRAPBOOK: We collected your stories, pictures, songs, recipes, journals and more to show what life has been like during the pandemic.

HAVE A TIP?: Send us confidential news tips

We’re working hard to bring you the latest news on the coronavirus in Florida. This effort takes a lot of resources to gather and update. If you haven’t already subscribed,please consider buying a print or digital subscription.

Let's block ads! (Why?)

"all" - Google News
July 12, 2020 at 03:08AM
https://ift.tt/2ZkccBB

Yankees’ All-Star closer Aroldis Chapman tests positive for coronavirus - Tampa Bay Times
"all" - Google News
https://ift.tt/2vcMBhz


Bagikan Berita Ini