Red Sox’ Kiké Hernandez tests positive for COVID-19, out for ‘extended period’

With a critical stretch of games in front of them, the Red Sox are going to be even more shorthanded as their battle against COVID-19 continued on Friday.

Red Sox manager Alex Cora announced before their series opener against the Cleveland Indians that Kiké Hernandez has tested positive for COVID-19 and Christian Arroyo was considered a close contact. They were both added to the COVID-19 related injured list.

“They’ll be out for an extended period of time,” Cora said. “Kiké has symptoms so we’ll stay on top of that. Arroyo is just a close contact.”

Per MLB’s COVID-19 protocols, players who test positive for COVID-19 need to be isolated for about 10 days before they can be cleared to return. But Hernandez said in April that he was part of a Red Sox group that went to get vaccinated, so he could return sooner than that.

Arroyo could be back even quicker because he did not test positive and was only deemed a close contact, so he would likely need to submit some negative tests before getting activated. Every player wears a trackable device that provides the team’s medical staff information on close contacts and how long they’ve been around others, and Arroyo was considered the only close contact to Hernandez.

The Red Sox were in a bit of scramble mode to fill both players’ spots on Friday night. Yairo Muñoz and Jonathan Arauz traveled to join the team in Cleveland in time for first pitch. Muñoz — who recently became the owner of the longest hitting streak in Red Sox organization history at 35 games with Triple-A Worcester — led off as the left fielder and Arauz batted ninth as the second baseman.

“It just happened,” Cora said. “We’ve been working on it the whole day.”

The news offered the latest reminder that the fight against COVID-19 continues. The Red Sox have had several members of their team miss time over the last month with the virus or symptoms of it. Bench coach Will Venable recently had to quarantine for 10 days in Canada after testing positive for COVID during the team’s trip to Toronto.

The Red Sox aren’t at the 85% vaccination threshold, but Cora understands what they’re up against and said they’ve continued to be as careful as possible as a team.

“We’ve been very disciplined,” Cora said. “Just talking to other people on other teams, we’re probably the most aggressive team testing-wise throughout the process. Even this weekend, with the situation with the Rangers because of some people that tested positive over there, we had to do our due diligence over here to make sure our group was clear regardless if you were vaccinated or not. So I think we’re doing a good job, just this is what we’re fighting against.

“I know for a fact that (Hernandez has) been great about all this stuff and taking care of his family for obvious reasons with the baby and his dad and everything that comes with the territory in his situation. But it’s something that we don’t control. We’re fighting an invisible enemy and it just happened that he tested positive.”

The news came a day after Hunter Renfroe had to leave the team indefinitely due to a death in his family. This seven-game road trip, first against the Indians this weekend and then the first-place Rays next week, will test the Red Sox’ depth, especially without Hernandez, who’s been one of their best offensive contributors since returning to the leadoff spot on June 27. Since then, he’s posted the best on-base percentage in the American League.

Cora didn’t rule out the possibility for more roster changes this weekend. He suggested Danny Santana, who’s been on a rehab assignment recovering from a groin injury, could be back sooner because of this situation.

“We’ve got some moving parts,” Cora said. “We’ve got guys on rehab assignments that are going to be with us sooner rather than later. We’re going to have to speed up the process with Danny probably, so we’ll manage today as a group and we’ll deal with today. After the game, we’re going to be able to slow everything down and start looking at the future. That’s where we’re at.”

from Boston Herald https://ift.tt/3zkCG5w