Category: Toronto Blue Jays

Yasiel Puig has tested positive for COVID-19 — HardballTalk | NBC Sports

Puig just announced his positive test result on Twitter

Yasiel Puig has tested positive for COVID-19 — HardballTalk | NBC Sports

By Craig CalcaterraJul 17, 2020, 3:02 PM EDT1 Comment

Next up on your 2020 bingo card: Yasiel Puig tests positive for COVID-19. And, Ken Rosenthal reports, he will not be signing with the Atlanta Braves as a result.

Puig, who was reported to be in agreement with the Braves on a deal, but whose signing had not yet been officially announced, tweeted moments ago that, while he is asymptomatic, he has tested positive for COVID-19. He said “I feel absolutely fine. I will be quarantined until I receive two negative test results, which I hope will arrive shortly.”

Puig goes on to say, “I am sad that this has happened, but I believe that everything is in God’s timing and that my return to MLB will happen in His perfect plan and timing for me. When I return to the field I will do so knowing that I will have one less hurdle to overcome.”

Puig hit .252/.302/.475 (92 OPS+) for the Reds last year before being traded to the Indians at the deadline. Once in Cleveland his performance improved, as he hit .297/.377/.423 (109 OPS+). His reported deal with the Braves comes on the heels of Braves outfielder Nick Markakis opting out of the 2020 season and after Braves star first baseman Freddie Freeman was laid up with fairly serious symptoms of COVID-19 himself.

Yasiel Puig tests positive for COVID-19, according to Puig:

pic.twitter.com/upWM0sdgtt

— Yasiel Puig (@YasielPuig) July 17, 2020

Earlier today Major League Baseball announced that it had collected 10,548 samples over the past week, but just six (0.05 percent) returned as new positives. Whether that includes Puig or not is not clear. This could be a new one that came in after the report was issued.

To date, the league has collected 17,949 monitoring samples and 23 new positives (18 players, five staff members), which equals 0.1 percent. When combining ongoing monitoring testing and intake screening that began June 27, there have been 93 positive tests (80 players) among 21,701 samples, which translates to 0.4 percent. Twenty-eight of the league’s 30 teams have had at least one positive. Again, whether that includes Puig is not known.

Follow @craigcalcaterraTags: Freddie Freeman, Nick Markakis, Yasiel Puig

Baseball bubble may have its advantages for quarantining Blue Jays — Toronto Sun

A self-confessed homebody, Ryan Borucki loves baseball in a bubble. The Blue Jays left-hander says he has thrived during the team’s two-week training camp here and believes the close confines with his teammates could create a competitive advantage when the 60-game MLB season gets underway next week. “I think this bubble is really going to […]

Baseball bubble may have its advantages for quarantining Blue Jays — Toronto Sun

Padres send pair of players to Royals for pitcher Tim Hill — HardballTalk | NBC Sports

On Thursday evening, the Padres acquired lefty reliever Tim Hill from the Royals in exchange for outfielder Franchy Cordero and pitcher Ronald Bolaños.

Padres send pair of players to Royals for pitcher Tim Hill — HardballTalk | NBC Sports

SF Giants explain when they’ll wear face masks on field, push umpires to mask up — Times-Standard

SAN FRANCISCO — In a season that’s already been shortened by more than 100 games due to the coronavirus pandemic and labor disagreements between owners and the MLB Players Association, simply getting to the finish line will be an accomplishment. Players, coaches, team staffers and executives across the sport all share the same goal of…

SF Giants explain when they’ll wear face masks on field, push umpires to mask up — Times-Standard

Austin Meadows tests positive for COVID-19 — HardballTalk | NBC Sports

Rays outfielder Austin Meadows has tested positive for COVID-19 and has been placed on the injured list. His status for Opening Day is unknown.

Austin Meadows tests positive for COVID-19 — HardballTalk | NBC Sports

Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports that Rays outfielder Austin Meadows has tested positive for COVID-19 and has been placed on the injured list. Meadows, who gave the Rays permission to disclose his test results, hadn’t been with the team for their workouts after initially passing intake testing.

Meadows, 25, broke out in a big way for the Rays last season, batting .291/.364/.558 with 33 home runs, 89 RBI, 83 runs scored, and 12 stolen bases in 591 plate appearances. He was named to the AL All-Star roster and received a handful of down-ballot votes for the AL MVP Award.

To replace Meadows on the 40-man roster, the Rays added lefty reliever Aaron Loup. Loup missed most of the 2019 season due to an elbow injury, registering just 3 1/3 innings with the Padres.

It is not known how the virus has impacted Meadows specifically, so it is still unknown whether or not he will be ready to rejoin the Rays in time for Opening Day on July 24. The Rays open the season hosting the Blue Jays. In the event Meadows isn’t ready to start the season, Yoshitomo Tsutsugo could play in left field regularly. Manuel Margot could also be considered.

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Former Phillies infielder Tony Taylor dies at 84 — HardballTalk | NBC Sports

Tony Taylor, who spent 15 of his 19 seasons with the Phillies, died on Thursday as a result of complications from a 2019 stroke.

Former Phillies infielder Tony Taylor dies at 84 — HardballTalk | NBC Sports

By Bill BaerJul 16, 2020, 4:05 PM EDT2 Comment

Longtime Phillies infielder Tony Taylor died on Thursday morning at the age of 84 due to complications following a stroke suffered in 2019, the club announced.

Taylor played 19 seasons in the majors from 1958-76, 15 of them with the Phillies. He was one of the most popular players in Philadelphia, even though he wouldn’t reach the postseason with the Phillies until his final year with the team in 1976.

The Phillies originally acquired Taylor from the Cubs in May 1960 along with Cal Neeman, sending Ed Bouchee and Don Cardwell to Chicago. Taylor was traded from the Phillies to the Tigers in June 1971 for a pair of minor leaguers. The Tigers released him in the offseason after the 1973 season and he re-signed for a second stint with the Phillies.

Across his 19 years in the big leagues, Taylor hit .261/.321/.352 with 298 doubles, 75 home runs, 598 RBI, 1,005 runs scored, and 234 stolen bases. He was also well-regarded for his defense. Taylor was a two-time All-Star, making it twice in 1960, during the brief period MLB played two All-Star Games in the same season.

Taylor was inducted into the Phillies’ Wall of Fame in 2002. A native of Cuba, Taylor was also inducted into the Hispanic Heritage Baseball Museum Hall of Fame in 2004.

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Astros reliever Joe Smith opts out of 2020 season — HardballTalk | NBC Sports

Smith has been a key part of the Astros bullpen over the past couple of seasons, posting a 3.06 ERA in 84 appearances in 2018 and 2019.

Astros reliever Joe Smith opts out of 2020 season — HardballTalk | NBC Sports

By Craig CalcaterraJul 15, 2020, 9:04 AM EDT1 Comment

Jim Bowden of The Athletic reports that Astros reliever Joe Smith has opted out of 2020 season. Previously, Smith had cited “concerns about the health and safety of his family” as his reasoning for not reporting to Astros summer camp, and those concerns no doubt are the reason for his decision to forego the 2020 campaign.

Smith has been a key part of the Astros bullpen over the past couple of seasons, posting a 3.06 ERA in 84 appearances in 2018 and 2019. He was particularly important last season, as he posted a 1.80 ERA in 28 appearances after returning from a torn achilles tendon, after which he appeared in 10 of Houston’s 18 postseason games. His absence will be especially felt given that Houston is already dealing with the absence of Jose Urquidy who has yet to make it to Astros Summer Camp.

Smith is the 14th player to opt out so far this year.

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AP sources: About 10 MLB umpires opt-out over virus concerns — www.elizabethton.com

BY BEN WALKER AP BASEBALL WRITER About 10 Major League Baseball umpires have opted out this season, choosing not to work games in the shortened schedule because of concerns over the coronavirus. Two people familiar with the situation told The Associated Press about the decisions on Tuesday. The people spoke on condition of anonymity because […]

AP sources: About 10 MLB umpires opt-out over virus concerns — www.elizabethton.com

The people spoke on condition of anonymity because there was no official announcement.

Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher David Price, San Francisco Giants catcher Buster Posey, and Washington Nationals infielder Ryan Zimmerman are among a dozen or so players who won’t participate this year because of health issues. The 60-game, virus-abbreviated season begins July 23.

There are 76 full-time MLB umpires and more than 20 of them are age 55 or over. Joe West and Gerry Davis are the oldest umps at 67.

Umpires who are deemed at risk — either for their age, health situation, or other issues — and opt-out will continue to get paid. Umps get their salaries over 12 months and have already been paid through April.

A deal between MLB and its umpires reached during the virus shutdown ensured that if even one regular-season game was played this season, the umps were guaranteed 37.5% of their salaries.

Umpires recently began working intrasquad and simulated games at big league camps to sharpen up for the season. Teams are set to start exhibition games this weekend in preparation for opening day.

Minus 10 or more MLB umpires, many Triple-A umps will work the two-month season. Most of them have previously called games in the majors as a fill-in for umpires who have been injured or are on vacation.

“It gives guys an opportunity,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “Some younger guys are going to get to be major league umpires for a season. That’ll be fun.”

Just as MLB redrew the schedule amid the virus outbreak, umpires are certain to see a shift, too. Crew assignments, travel arrangements, and schedules were still under review at the start of the week.

Red Sox Adding Temporary Dugouts In Stands To Social Distance During Games — NESN.com

Baseball is pretty friendly to social-distance measures compared to other sports, but with expanded rosters for the first month of the season, the Boston Red Sox don’t want too many guys crowding into the dugouts and bullpens. In trying to prevent that, the team is adding temporary wood structures or tents to serve as extra seating…

Red Sox Adding Temporary Dugouts In Stands To Social Distance During Games — NESN.com

Baseball is pretty friendly to social-distance measures compared to other sports, but with expanded rosters for the first month of the season, the Boston Red Sox don’t want too many guys crowding into the dugouts and bullpens. In trying to prevent that, the team is adding temporary wood structures or tents to serve as extra seating for home and visiting players at Fenway Park.

Red Sox manager Ron Roenicke on Tuesday told reporters on a Zoom call that only nine players and three coaches will be allowed in the real dugouts at the same time. He said two extra dugouts will be added in the stands between home plate and each home and away dugout. The team also has discussed adding a structure behind the bullpens.

“Whether it will be tents or whether it will be a structure, I know they need to get going on that. And then in the bullpen, same thing. There’s another structure we’ve talked about behind the bullpen that both the visiting and home team can go back there,” Roenicke said. “And some taller chairs so we can have more guys in the bullpen. As it is right now, you can’t see (over the right-field wall) in the lower chairs. So you’ve got to get a higher chair and we can spread them out enough. I don’t know if we can have all the guys. If we go with eight to 10 guys (relief pitchers), I don’t know if we could have them all in there, but it is a process on how we’re going to do this during the game,” Roenicke said. Fenway saw other alterations as batting cages and weight rooms were added to the concourses while players utilized suits as locker rooms

Read more at: https://nesn.com/2020/07/red-sox-adding-temporary-dugouts-in-stands-to-social-distance-during-games/