Facial coverings and social distancing were in abundance Friday as Manager Ron Roenicke and the Boston Red Sox opened training camp on Friday at Fenway Park. Roenicke said multiple Red Sox players tested positive for COVID-19.. Michael Dwyer/Associated Press
BOSTON — Manager Ron Roenicke said the Boston Red Sox had some positive tests for coronavirus, but he would not name which players.
“We do have some positive tests,” Roenicke said during a Zoom call Friday.
Overall, 31 Major League Baseball players and seven staff members tested positive for COVID-19 during intake for the resumption of training, a rate of 1.2%. MLB and the players’ association announced the results Friday as teams resumed workouts for the first time since the coronavirus interrupted spring training on March 12, two weeks before the season was to start. Opening Day has been reset for July 23, the latest in baseball history.
The positive tests occurred among 19 of the 30 teams, according to results of the samples sent to the Sports Medicine Research and Testing Laboratory in South Jordan, Utah. There were 3,185 samples collected and tested through the first week of intake testing. Individual players have not been identified, but some teams have raised suspicions by placing players on an injured list this week without announcing an injury.
Roenicke would not say the exact number of positive tests. Most Boston players underwent testing Wednesday. The team opened summer training camp at Fenway Park on Friday morning.
MLB has resumed the 2020 season after the coronavirus pandemic suspended play March 12.
“I feel really good about what they put into place (for safety protocols),” Roenicke said.
Catchers and pitchers already worked out. Starting pitcher Eduardo Rodriguez was not present. He’s back at home in Florida and has yet to fly into Boston because someone he was around was sick. So he’s waiting for his test results before he flies to Boston.
“This is the craziest time and the busiest time I’ve ever had in baseball,” Roenicke said.
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