As baseball attempts to resume play after its All-Star break, the Rockies and Yankees are currently dealing with coronavirus epidemics that have sidelined 10 players and 2 coaches.
The Red Sox and Yankees played Friday night as scheduled, one day after their series opener in New York was delayed due to New York's six player outbreak.
Judge, third baseman Gio Urushela, and catcher Kyle Higashioka were all added to the COVID-19 injures list Friday. They join pitchers Jonathan Loaisiga and Nestor Cortes Jr., and Wandy Peralta. Loaisiga was on the IL while New York was in Houston last weekend, and Cortes as well as Peralta were both added Thursday.
Black, Ron Gideon, the first base coach of Colorado, and four other players were unable to attend Friday's Colorado home game against the Los Angeles Dodgers. However, the clubs planned to still play. The COVID-19 IL added right-handers Antonio Senzatela and Yency Almonte to their ranks, as well as outfielder Yonathan daza.
As teams attempt to resume play after a Denver All-Star Game break, the virus surges occur. This is a setback for a league which hadn't delayed a game due to virus concerns for nearly three months.
The Yankees stated that at least one of Judge and Urshela, as well as Higashioka, were not vaccinated. Aaron Boone, New York's manager, expects that each player who has tested positive will be out within 10 days of receiving their results. Boone stated that although some players may be experiencing mild symptoms, none have become seriously ill.
Gerrit Cole, Yankees' ace, compared the news with being hit by an "invisible, microscopic truck."
New Yorkers had another round on Friday of rapid testing that did not reveal any other positives.
At a disappointing 46-43, the Yankees were fourth in the AL East. They were also among the first MLB teams that reached the 85% threshold. This triggers a decrease in coronavirus protocols, such as dropping bullpens masks in dugouts.
Judge played for the AL team this week's All-Star Game, raising concerns about the spread of the midsummer classic. MLB was conducting contact trace under its protocols. There were no COVID-19-related postponements around the league, with all teams set to play Friday night. None of the Rockies' players who were added to the COVID IL are All-Stars.
Alex Cora, Red Sox manager, said that "I hate seeing this" before the Rockies made their announcement. It's a horrible sight, but it should be one team. "I don't know if this will be the case."
Dave Roberts, the Dodgers manager, stated that players and staff from Los Angeles had gone through two rounds in testing. All of them came back negative before Friday's game in Denver against the Rockies.
He said, "It's what it is. Just got to follow whatever they ask." "I hoped we would get past it all, but we aren't."
While Black is out, Rockies bench coach Mike Redmond and Major League Data & Game Plan Coordinator Doug Bernier will be in charge of Colorado. The club promoted right-handers Zac Rosscup and Ben Bowden, as well as Antonio Santos (right-hander) and Sam Hilliard (outfielder). The Rockies were also among those teams that reached 85% vaccination.
Redmond stated that he was not aware of any discussions regarding postponing Friday’s game. Senzatela was scheduled to start Friday for Colorado. Instead, Chi Chi Gonzalez, a left-hander, was scheduled to pitch.
Redmond stated, "I cannot talk about any details." "All I can tell you is that these guys are part of MLB's contact trace protocols. I wish I could tell you more, but I cannot."
First baseman Luke Voit, who suffered a left knee bone injury on Friday, was also added to the Yankees' injured list. New York promoted four Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre players: Chris Gittens (first baseman), Hoy Park (infielder), Greg Allen (outfielder), and Rob Brantly (catcher). Trey Amburgey, an outfielder, was activated Thursday from the 10-day inactive list. Zack Britton, a left-hander was also activated.
Boone stated, "We are really excited to take the field tonight to have an opportunity against the first place team in our division." "And we expect that we will go play well."
Judge and Urshela are among the few performers this year in New York's lineup. Judge is batting at.282 with 21 homers, and a.901 OPS. Urshela, a smooth-fielding catcher, is batting.275 and has 11 homers with a.756 OS.
Boone stated, "That's our reality right at the moment." "We must make the most of it."
The Yankees received more than half a dozen positive COVID-19 test results in May, despite having all their vaccinations. This included Reggie Willits, Reggie Willits, Phil Nevin, and Matt Blake, pitching coach. Nevin became very ill after he was vaccinated. He had a kidney infection and was unable to return to the team for over three weeks.
Thursday's Red Sox-Yankees match was the eighth postponement due to coronavirus this season, but it was also the first in almost three months. A three-game series was also delayed, with the New York Mets at Washington on April 1-4; Atlanta's game against the Nationals on April 5; two Minnesota games at Los Angeles Angels on April 17-18; and a Twins-at-Oak game on April 19.
45 regular-season games were postponed due to virus-related reasons last year's shortening season. Only two of them were made up, one between St. Louis & Detroit.
New York announced Thursday's postponement would be covered in a split-admission doubleheader at Yankee Stadium, Aug. 17.