CLEVELAND – Chicago White Sox manager Rick Renteria woke up Monday with “a slight cough and a stuffy nose” and will stay away from the team pending the results of medical tests.
Bench coach Joe McEwing will manage the White Sox until the team learns more about Renteria’s condition. Monday’s opening of a three-game set in Cleveland was postponed in the rain and will recover on Tuesday as part of a traditional double game.
General manager Rick Hahn released a statement saying Renteria, 58, was taken to a Cleveland hospital for evaluation and testing.
“As a precaution, Ricky will remain at the team hotel and will not manage until we receive confirmation of today’s test result,” said Hahn.
The team did not say whether Renteria, who is in his fourth season as White Sox manager, was being evaluated for the coronavirus.
Before Monday’s postponement, McEwing said in a video call that he spoke to Renteria several times and that “he feels great, he feels good. He is just very cautious.”
The White Sox announced on July 5 that they had two players who tested positive for the coronavirus. The team never identified the players, but third baseman Yoan Moncada revealed a positive test result after he joined the team.
“We just continue to focus on what we are doing, taking the right steps to keep everyone as safe as possible,” said McEwing. “As an organization and as training staff, we have done a pretty good job so far, and we hope it will continue to do so.”
McEwing is pleased that the team has followed proper procedures to handle a potential outbreak, something that every team fears.
“Major League Baseball and we as an organization have done a fantastic job of monitoring this on a daily basis,” he said. “We take our temperatures three times a day. If we have symptoms, they monitor us immediately, so we are closely monitoring every person who has been in contact with anyone who has symptoms and taking the correct measures on a daily basis” . “
White Sox left fielder Eloy Jiménez was not in the lineup posted before the first game of the series rained, but McEwing said he felt better. Jiménez left Sunday’s 14-2 loss to Minnesota because he felt dizzy.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
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