Yanks minor leaguer tests positive for coronavirus
Marly Rivera details how a new coronavirus diagnosis will impact the major league and if spring training activities will be canceled. (1:12)
A New York Yankees minor league player has tested positive for coronavirus, becoming the first known baseball player affected by the outbreak, the team confirmed.
The player, who did not spend any time on the major league side of the Yankees’ spring-training facility in Tampa, Florida, was isolated Friday after he developed a fever.
“On Friday morning, the minor-leaguer presented with symptoms for the very first time,” said Yankees GM Brian Cashman during a conference call Sunday. “Friday morning, he woke up and presented with symptoms of fever and fatigue, and he called it in. He did not report to the facility. Turning the time back, Thursday night, he didn’t go out. He ordered for pizza delivery to his room, and that was it. Symptom-free up until Friday morning when he woke up. And so, they reacted to his temperature and tested him for influenza and tested him for strep. They both came back negative.”
On Sunday morning, Yankees player development director Kevin Reese texted minor league players informing them of the positive test, according to a copy of the text obtained by ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel. The text said the player is recovering well and that the organization is in contact with department of health officials to figure out the next steps.
The Yankees were among the teams whose major league players had resolved to stay in camp amid the coronavirus outbreak. Major League Baseball in a memo Sunday said major league players would be allowed to stay in camps “but we anticipate that may change in the coming days as events continue to unfold and players become better educated about current conditions.”
The league banned group workouts, saying in the memo: “Until we develop appropriate protocols to minimize the risks to players (which we are actively working on), Clubs are not permitted to hold or organize any group workouts, practices, skill or conditioning sessions, or other player activities at their facilities.”
The Yankees minor leaguer joins Utah Jazz stars Rudy Gobert and Donovan Mitchell, the Detroit Pistons‘ Christian Wood and an unnamed XFL player among those in the sports world who have tested positive for coronavirus.