MLB All-Star first baseman Freddie Freeman was among the four Atlanta Braves players who tested positive for coronavirus, manager Brian Snitker announced Saturday.
Snitker said it could take “a while” for Freeman to return, as the 30-year-old is still struggling with the fever and “is not feeling well.” Freeman is the most prominent MLB player to have contracted the disease.
Will Smith, Touki Toussaint and Pete Kozma also tested positive for the virus, Snitker said.
Snitker said Toussaint and Smith, both relief players, have been asymptomatic. The status of infielder Kozma is unclear.
Teams can publish the names of individual players who have tested positive for coronavirus only if the player gives them permission.
All four players must comply with the MLB protocol and immediately isolate themselves. They will have to give a negative result twice within 24 hours before returning to the field. Spring Training 2.0 has been underway for the past few days in the teams’ respective baseball stadiums.
The development comes after MLB announced Friday that 31 players and seven staff members, across 19 teams, tested positive for COVID-19 in the first round of league-wide coronavirus testing. At least two teams, the Brewers and Athletics, were not included in this round of testing as their testing had not yet been completed.
The 38 positive tests accounted for 1.2 percent of the 3,185 tests.
The first round of NBA coronavirus testing resulted in 16 positive cases for players, or 5.3 percent of the 302 evaluated. MLS said it had a 2.7 percent positive test rate (18 of 668) for players.
According to Johns Hopkins, the national seven-day rate of positive results is 7.4 percent as cases continue to rise across the country.
Freeman set professional records for home runs (38) and RBIs (121) with a batting average of .295 last season. In October, he underwent surgery on his right elbow to remove three loose bodies.
Stikner also said that Braves first base coach Eric Young decided not to participate in the 2020 season because he is considered high risk to COVID-19.
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