CLEVELAND — The Chicago White Sox got their manager back just before their first road game of this strange, shortened season.
Rick Renteria returned to the team Tuesday after being isolated for 24 hours after he awakened Monday experiencing some COVID-19 symptoms. Renteria walked into Progressive Field about 90 minutes before the start of a doubleheader against the Indians.
He stayed behind the batting cage and at a safe distance from his players as they took batting practice.
Before he arrived, it was unclear when Renteria, who has been with the White Sox since 2017, would be allowed back with the club. On Monday, he complained of a “slight cough and nasal congestion” and went to a Cleveland hospital for evaluation and tests.
The 58-year-old stayed at the team’s hotel when Monday’s game was postponed by rain. Renteria, who managed the Portland Sea Dogs in 2000 and 2001, had to stay away from his players and staff until he passed Major League Baseball’s safety protocols.
Before Tuesday’s doubleheader, bench coach Joe McEwing said he had been in contact with Renteria and reported he “sounded great. We miss him. Hopefully we get him back here soon.” McEwing filled in as manager during Renteria’s short absence.
As part of the guidelines teams most follow, a symptomatic person must have two negative tests given 24 hours apart before they are allowed to rejoin the team. The person must also be symptom-free and receive physician approval to return.
The decision by the White Sox to isolate Renteria came amid concerns about the coronavirus spreading across the majors in the first week since the delayed season began.
ASTROS: Houston has picked up the option for the 2021 season on Manager Dusty Baker’s contract. Baker was hired in January to replace AJ Hinch who was fired after he and general manager Jeff Luhnow were suspended for one year for their roles in Houston’s sign-stealing scandal. Luhnow was also fired.
The 71-year-old Baker is in his 23rd year as a manager after starting in 1993 with the San Francisco Giants. A three-time National League Manager of the Year, Baker came to the Astros after managing the Washington Nationals, who let him go after a 97-65 season in 2017.
Baker’s 1,865 career wins are first among active managers and rank 15th in major league history.
DODGERS: Starting pitcher Alex Wood went on the injured list with shoulder inflammation Tuesday. The team recalled right-hander Josh Sborz ahead of its game at Houston.
Wood joins fellow lefty Clayton Kershaw, who went on the IL last week after tweaking his back during a weight-room workout. Kershaw had to miss his scheduled start on opening day. Wood made his first start with the Dodgers since 2018 in a 5-4 loss to San Francisco last Saturday. He gave up three runs and three hits in three innings.
METS: The New York Mets have agreed to a minor league contract with catcher Bruce Maxwell, the first major league player to kneel during the national anthem to protest racial injustice, according to a person familiar with the deal.
Maxwell began kneeling during the anthem late in his rookie season with the Oakland Athletics in 2017, about a year after San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick sparked the protest movement in the NFL.
The 29-year-old Maxwell, who is Black, was the only major leaguer to take a knee before this season. Numerous players and coaches have since taken up the protest amid nationwide discourse this summer over social justice, and Black players have expressed regret that they didn’t do more to support Maxwell in 2017.
“We should have been there,” Detroit Tigers outfielder Cameron Maybin told ESPN this month. “We had the chance to apologize to him. What we’re doing has been overdue. Long overdue.”
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