Washington National outfielder Juan Soto has tested positive for the coronavirus and will miss Thursday’s season opener against the New York Yankees, general manager Mike Rizzo said.
Rizzo said Soto was asymptomatic and that no one else on the list was deemed ineligible after the contact trace.
Soto needs two negative tests before he can return to the field.
“We have to make our plans to play without Juan for an extended period of time,” Rizzo said in a conference call.
The Nationals did not include Soto on his initial 30-man roster for the 2020 season, but instead placed him on the COVID-19 disabled list.
“We are going to have to learn to adapt to these things. The team that does the best job of keeping its star players on the field and healthy has a better chance of winning.”
Soto, who had 34 home runs and 110 RBIs last year, missed the first two weeks of “summer camp” for undisclosed reasons and was not reported until July 16. There is a Washington, DC rule that requires someone to contact someone who had the coronavirus needed to self-guarantee for 14 days.
Soto, 21, was a standout star in the Nationals’ run to the 2019 World Series title, hitting .277 with five home runs and 14 RBIs in the playoffs.
Nats manager Dave Martinez said Soto would be replaced in left field by Andrew Stevenson in Thursday’s lineup.
Martinez said anyone who has been in close contact with Soto was screened early Thursday morning and will be retested on Friday. He said he expects the results to be available Friday night.
ESPN’s Jeff Passan contributed to this report.
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