Four-time Atlanta Braves All-Star Freddie Freeman, top reliever Will Smith and two teammates have tested positive for the coronavirus, a jarring blow to the Eastern National League champions less than three weeks before the beginning of the pandemic season.
“It will be a while before we can get it back,” manager Brian Snitker said of Freeman on Saturday.
Snitker said the four players, including right-hander Touki Toussaint and infielder Pete Kozma, agreed that the team would reveal their positive results.
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Snitker said Freeman had a negative admission test earlier in the week before having a positive test on Friday. Snitker said first baseman has a fever and “doesn’t feel well.”
Major League Baseball has scheduled the 60-game season to begin on July 23. Freeman is the biggest star in the sport so far when his team has publicly announced its positive virus test.
It is too early to know if Freeman’s status for the start of the season could be jeopardized.
“It’s serious business,” Braves outfielder Nick Markakis said. “I hope Freddie heals quickly. I know that he is young, healthy. I hope he recovers and returns as quickly as possible because, as you know with 60 games, a week can change things quickly. “
Freeman, 30, set his best career mark with 38 home runs and 121 RBIs last season to help Atlanta win its second straight National League title in the National League. He placed fourth in the National League MVP vote in 2018 after hitting .309 with 23 home runs and winning a Gold Glove.
Snitker said concerns will remain even after all four players return to practice.
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“The boys have received it more than once,” Snitker said. “We will have to be careful throughout the year and it will be the new normal for the next three months.”
Snitker said it was important for baseball and society to know that even one of the game’s biggest stars can test positive.
“Everyone is concerned that this is real,” Snitker said. “… It shows that this is a real deal and no one is immune to it.”
MLB and the players’ association announced Friday that 31 players and seven staff members tested positive for COVID-19, a rate of 1.2 percent. Snitker said he was surprised that the numbers were not higher.
Another four-time All-Star, Colorado Rockies outfielder Charlie Blackmon had been the biggest star in baseball to test positive before Freeman.
Snitker also said that first base coach Eric Young Sr., 53, has withdrawn from the season due to concerns about the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Braves began their summer training at Truist Park on Friday and continued Saturday with only small groups on the field together and attempted to practice social distancing.
Atlanta signed Smith, an All-Star with the Giants last season, for a three-year, $ 39 million contract in November. You could challenge Mark Melancon for the role of the closer.
Snitker said Smith and Toussaint have no symptoms. He said Kozma, who is working with top minor league players at the team’s Triple-A Gwinnett facility, has a fever.
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Snitker said Smith “feels great. He is eager to return.”
DeMarlo Hale, who had been a special assistant to the team, will replace Young to train outfielders and serve as the first-base coach.
“I applaud EY,” Snitker said. “It was a difficult decision for him. He is an old player and we will miss him very much for what he brings into this clubhouse and his energy and everything.”
