Red Sox player recently tested positive for COVID-19

Red Sox chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom said Wednesday that a player on the 40-man roster recently tested positive for COVID-19, but they seem to have recovered and will be ready for Spring Training 2.0 when it begins at Fenway Park next week.

“We did have, a couple weeks ago, we had a player who in his hometown was exposed,” Bloom said. “He went and got tested. It turned out positive, but he’s been asymptomatic and that’s been resolved. We’ve been fortunate that that’s been the only other positive test we’ve had.”

This is the second known positive test within the Red Sox organization after a minor leaguer tested positive on March 23. Bloom didn’t identify who the recent player was beyond that he’s on the 40-man roster.

“I don’t think it’s appropriate to go into details but I will say that,” Bloom said.

The Red Sox have been fortunate compared to other teams thus far. The Phillies have had at least 12 members of the organization test positive over the last week, and earlier this week Charlie Blackmon was among three Rockies to test positive.

But Bloom and the Red Sox are expecting the real possibility that they’ll have more positive cases, especially as players — some who live outside the country — fly in to Boston next week to begin organized workouts. When players arrive, Red Sox president Sam Kennedy said everyone will participate in an intake process in which they’re tested at the ballpark and then go into an isolation period for 48 hours as they await the results. If an individual tests positive, they’ll be quarantined and their symptoms observed for 14 days.

Bloom described the process as “robust” and said they’re still working through all the details.

“To think we’re not going to have any positives just given the state of this is probably too optimistic, so we need to be ready,” Bloom said. “But the good news is the protocols are well set up to both care for an individual who tests positive and also make sure we give ourselves every chance for a widespread outbreak.”

Bloom acknowledged that the team — and the league as a whole — will not be operating within a bubble like the NBA and NHL will be when their seasons restart. That makes things a little more complicated, and Bloom said personal responsibility will be key.

“We need to make sure that everybody understands why these protocols are in place, the importance of them, the importance of being responsible off the field,” Bloom said. “I also think everybody is in a bit of a different situation with what they’re navigating at home. We’re going to educate them on the things they can do to be responsible, and then we’re going to need everybody including me and Sam to be responsible with how we handle ourselves off the field.

“This is going to be a different season and we’re going to have to live different lives than we normally would. I think everybody understands that. It’s going to be key in making sure we accomplish what we’re hoping to accomplish this season.”

from Boston Herald https://ift.tt/2Z53g1z