The Atlanta Braves, hours before their opening game against the New York Mets, are giving us an example of how playing baseball during a pandemic can quickly become chaotic.
The Braves’ two receivers, Tyler Flowers and Travis d’Arnaud, will not be available to play on Friday after showing symptoms of coronavirus. MLB.com’s Mark Bowman says both players tested negative but returned to Atlanta.
The Braves, on the other hand, summoned two receivers from their taxi squad:
While this is to be expected, and exactly the reason MLB teams have these so-called minor league player taxi squads close by, it’s not exactly what teams want to happen hours before the first release of its season.
Follow the news Thursday that the Washington Nationals star Juan Soto had tested positive before his team’s opening game against the Yankees. Soto was immediately sidelined. The test was conducted on Tuesday, but since Soto is asymptomatic, there were still questions about how much contact he had with his teammates between his test and his positive results.
Players need two negative tests before they can return to their teams.
Take this as a reminder that while baseball is trying to celebrate a bit of normalcy with an opening day, coronavirus cases continue to rise every day in this country.
Atlanta Braves catcher Tyler Flowers is not with the team for opening day after showing symptoms of coronavirus. (Photo by Rich von Biberstein / Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
