Cincinnati Reds infielder Matt Davidson tested positive for COVID-19, the team announced Saturday.
Davidson was in the Reds’ lineup during his 7-1 win as he opened the season against the Detroit Tigers on Friday. He served as the designated hitter and was hitless in two at-bats before being removed from the game.
Davidson’s COVID-19 test was taken before the game, making him the first known player to participate in a regular-season game while positive.
Matt Davidson, who shook hands with Nick Castellanos in Friday’s season opener, tested positive for COVID-19. (Photo by Kirk Irwin / MLB Photos via Getty Images)
Now we turn to all the obvious questions. Is it a false positive? Who did you sit next to? Who did you interact with? We can clearly see that he shook hands with Nick Castellanos in the photo above, and we are sure that there were several other interactions as well.
Davidson is the latest in a small series of positive tests revealed since opening day Thursday.
Juan Soto of the Washington Nationals was removed from the lineup after his positive test was revealed hours before the start of the season against the New York Yankees. Atlanta Braves catchers Tyler Flowers and Travis d’Arnaud also tested positive just before the season opener.
In those cases, they did not reach the field. But the Braves had to travel to New York as a team, and other players may have been exposed.
It is the unfortunate reality of playing baseball during a pandemic. MLB can never get ahead. There will always be more questions than answers, and the answers that come will often be too late.
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