The Boston Red Sox Wednesday, March 25, 2020
Red Sox minor leaguer tests positive for coronavirus
Julian McWilliams
The Red Sox announced Tuesday night that a minor leaguer had tested positive for COVID-19.
The player’s positive test occurred March 23 following his return home. The Sox said he was last at Fenway South March 15.
The Red Sox kept the player’s name confidential and believe he contracted the virus after leaving spring training.
As a precaution, the Red Sox decided to shut down all activity at Fenway South for at least two weeks. The facility will undergo a deep cleaning to disinfect the area. The Sox have instructed all players who came in close contact with the minor leaguer to self-quarantine for two weeks.
Manager Ron Roenicke noted during a conference call last week that most of the major league players had returned home, but approximately eight to 15 players stayed back to work out.
During that call, chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom said although a player hadn’t tested positive for the virus to that point, he knew it was a possibility.
“That’s something we’re being very vigilant in monitoring,” Bloom said. “You look around and where this is going, obviously we know that it’s very, very possible that it’s going to happen at some point. We’re just trying to make sure everyone is educated and, again, stay in touch with everybody.”
A new group is advocating for minor leaguers to be paid above the poverty line
Michael Silverman
A new group thinks minor league baseball players ought to earn a salary above the poverty line.
What the “Advocates for Minor Leaguers” nonprofit appreciates is that getting Major League Baseball to buy into that bottom line will be a snap.
“The first initiative is an immediate demand to more than double the minimum salary to $15,000 a year — that’s the level that would place these guys just above the poverty line and it’s also the amount that’s right around what a full-time minimum wage-earner makes,” said Garrett Broshuis, co-founder of AML, and also a St. Louis-based lawyer and former Giants pitching prospect. “So surely, MLB as an $10.7 billion industry can afford to pay these guys what a full-time minimum wage-earner would make. To do that would cost each MLB team far less than $2 million a year — that’s less than half what one average major league player costs.”
Broshuis and a group of former and current minor leaguers founded the group (for more information, visit advocatesforminorleaguers.com) in large part because unlike their major league brethren, the thousands of minor leaguers among the 30 MLB franchises do not have a union or any formal structure to advocate for their rights.
The federal individual poverty line is $12,760. For full-time workers making the federal minimum wage of $7.25 an hour, the annual incomes works out to $15,080.
Minor leaguers do not get paid for regular or extended spring training.
During a usual five-month season starting in April, a rookie and Single-A player makes $3,480 a season, $7,000 for Double-A players and $10,040 at Triple-A.
And while more and more stories are emerging about the plight of minor leaguers during the sport shutdown during the COVID-10 outbreak, the minor leaguers have dispersed without any say about their short- and long-term financial outlook.
Major League Baseball did announce on Thursday that all 30 clubs would provide daily allowances through April 8, when spring training was supposed to end.
As to what will happen to the sub-minimum wage paychecks minor leaguers were supposed to see when the season was set to begin on April 9 remains very much in the air.
Fittingly, MLB will not turn its decision to the fate of the minor leaguers’ salaries until they hammer out details of what will happen to the major leaguers, who are represented by the powerful Major League Baseball Players Association.
The prospect of minor-league players organizing and forming a union at this particular moment is virtually zero.
Part of that is a collective mindset forged on an entrenched and fear-based mindset that may change in the future but not quickly enough.
““There’s very much the sentiment that ‘if you don’t like it, play better’ — it’s the overarching theme of minor league baseball, and it’s really unfortunate” said Ty Kelly, a recently retired major leaguer who was in the minor leagues last season and the 10 seasons before then.
“It’s unfortunate (MLB doesn’t) view their players as investments. That’s all we can really ask for — to just treat them like they are the future members of your major league team that they most definitely can be, especially if you put in the time and energy to create an atmosphere where they can thrive and they can succeed and then they can be called up at some point and help your major league team make more money for you so you can continue going back and paying players in the minor leagues to help your major league team out in the future. It obviously only makes sense that you would treat all of your employees fairly, first of all, but then to treat them as investments — it just makes sense.”
The group is looking to advocate for better overall working conditions for minor leaguers, which in large part will require raising awareness in the public. It hopes major leaguers will get behind the group, too.
Another co-founder, former Mets’ minor league pitcher Raul Jacobson, still can’t shake the memories of the struggles his Latino teammates faced, who would pool their $45 weekly food stipend to “walk to WalMart and buy giant packages of frozen chicken and cook it on the electric stove in your hotel room — you’ll walk by the hotel and see four guys in a room who are eating out of one pot, and it’s mind-blowing to me that if you don’t want to eat the team-provided food you have to go meet up with three four other guys to make that happen,” said Jacobson. “They can’t just walk into McDonald’s and pay 10 bucks a meal. The only reason I could do it and I didn’t sign for any money but I had parents who were willing to help support me and go after my dream. That’s just not the reality for probably half the minor leaguers if not more.”
* The Boston Herald
Red Sox minor leaguer has tested positive for coronavirus
Jason Mastrodonato
It was always going to be dangerous to leave spring training complexes open.
Red Sox chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom said last Thursday that he wouldn’t be surprised if somebody in the organization contracted the coronavirus. And on Tuesday, the Sox announced they had their first case.
A minor league player tested positive on Monday, March 23, according to a release by the club. The player was not named due to respect for his privacy, but the team said he’s “doing well.”
The infected player was last seen at the spring training facility in Fort Myers on March 15.
Infected coronavirus patients can go as long as 13 days without showing symptoms, according to Harvard Medical School, but the club guesses it’s “more likely that he contracted COVID-19 after he left Fort Myers.”
Regardless, the team decided to shut down the entire spring training complex at Fenway South for at least two weeks starting on Tuesday. There will be a “deep cleaning” to disinfect the facility.
As of last Thursday, nobody in the organization had tested positive.
“That’s something we’re being very vigilant in monitoring,” Bloom said last week. “You look around the way this is going, we know it’s very very possible it’s going to happen at some point. So we’re just trying to make sure everybody is educated and stay in touch with everybody.”
Though MLB suspended spring training on March 12 and suspended spring training operations on March 13, the league decided to allow players to continue reporting to their team’s facilities if they wanted to.
The Red Sox said most of the coaches went home and they reduced the staff reporting daily to the complex at JetBlue Park, but some players are still showing up.
“We do have a crew there, a reduced crew, of medical staff and we have guys who are able to work out with players who are coming,” interim manager Ron Roenicke said last week. “They are showing up in waves. So the pitchers are showing up first in the morning. The guys who are in the area. And then in the afternoon the guys who are still there, the regulars are showing up to hit in the batting cages and to stay sharp that way.”
Roenicke said anywhere from eight to 15 guys were showing up on a daily basis.
Minor leaguers do not get paid during spring training but typically receive daily allowances. MLB announced last week they agreed to send lump sum payments to minor leaguers that would cover the allowances they would’ve received through April 8.
MLB is still deciding how to handle paying minor leaguers from April 8 going forward.
“We’ll see where we’re at from there,” Bloom said last week. “We’re glad that every club is doing that. This is a difficult career, it’s made more difficult by all the uncertainty that’s been thrown everybody’s way right now. So we’re all trying to navigate it together and we’re very happy to be able to extend the support to our players.”
Bloom said last week they’d be in contact with every player daily to make sure they’re healthy and “have a support network wherever they may be, that they know they have the resources that we can provide at their backs and also to give them as much guidance as possible to make sure they stay in shape and ready for whenever it is time to come back.”
Boston’s top 10 athletes, No. 8: No. 45, Pedro Martinez
Tom Keegan
No matter what happens for the rest of his life, the five-word epitaph for Dan Duquette already has been written: Twice traded for Pedro Martinez.
On Nov. 19, 1993, Duquette dealt Expos second baseman Delino DeShields to the Dodgers for Martinez. At the expansion draft on Nov. 18, 1997, Duquette brought him to Boston from Montreal in exchange for right-handers Carl Pavano and Tony Armas (not named until a month later).
The Cy Young Award form Pedro showed in his final season in Montreal continued during a seven-year Red Sox run during which he won two Cy Youngs, was shafted out of an MVP, won a World Series, led the American League in ERA four times, strikeouts three times, and at Fenway Park in 1999 authored the most memorable All-Star Game pitching performance since Carl Hubbel’s 65 years earlier.
Pitching when steroids bloated hitters’ numbers, Martinez had an ERA under 2.90 in each of his first six seasons with the Red Sox, and it was under 2.40 in four of them.
He went 23-4 with a 2.07 ERA in 1999. A year later, when the Blue Jays’ Roger Clemens finished second with a 3.70 ERA, Martinez went 18-6 with a 1.74 ERA. The league ERA: 5.28. The more hitters dominated the game, the greater Pedro dominated.
How did he do it? Duquette put on his scouting cap to answer that question by phone from his home on Cape Cod.
“He had good velocity on his fastball, he had life on his fastball,” Duquette said, meaning it appeared to the hitter that it picked up steam at the end. “He had a great overhand curve and as Matt Stairs used to say, a Bugs Bunny changeup (which in the cartoon stopped in mid-air and changed directions). Even if you were looking for it, you couldn’t hit it. Pedro had the pitches, the control and the drive to be great. He had the heart of a lion. He was 5-11, 160 pounds and when he was out on the mound, he was ready to fight anybody. If you leaned out over the plate against him, he’d throw up and in and come back with a breaking ball at the shoulder.”
And he was on a mission.
“After the Dodgers traded him, Pedro had a chip on his shoulder for the rest of his career,” Duquette said.
That chip came in handy in the most memorable at bat of the ’99 All-Star Game with Sammy Sosa at the plate.
Before the game, the best baseball players in the world gathered around the great Ted Williams seated in a golf cart parked on the infield grass, a chilling experience for all.
Somehow, Martinez managed to upstage that moment.
He struck out the first four batters — Barry Larkin, Larry Walker, Sosa and Mark McGwire — and finished with five Ks (Jeff Bagwell) in two innings.
During the five-pitch at bat against Sosa, Martinez showcased all three of his unhittable pitches.
Sosa’s knees buckled and his upper body leaned back as a wicked 1-0 curveball snapped over the plate to even the count.
“Jelly legs from Sammy Sosa,” Tim McCarver told viewers.
A 2-1 changeup dove under Sosa’s bat, which was well out ahead of the pitch. Pedro followed with a high 96 mph fastball, swing and a miss, Strike 3. Pedro walked off the Fenway mound as he so often did, serenaded by a roar of pure love.
This ballplayer was made for Boston.
“The other thing Pedro had, Pedro had panache. He’s a diva. He’s a performer. He wanted to be out there when it counted. There’s no better example than the ’99 All-Star Game,” Duquette said. “Sammy Sosa was saying Pedro wouldn’t be able to do in the National League what he was doing in the American League. Pedro embarrassed him like he was on the playground, and did it in front of millions of people. That was about domination in the Dominican. He absolutely embarrassed Sammy. Every once in a while, if I want a good laugh I’ll go and watch the total domination of Pedro in the ’99 All-Star Game for those two innings.”
Duquette shared some background on his two trades for Martinez.
In the years after his ill-fated “Nightline” appearance ended his tenure as Dodgers general manager, Al Campanis remained a trusted voice on matters of talent evaluation for the organization and appeared at spring training.
Duquette, then farm director for the Expos, remembered, “Al Campanis came up to me and was all over me about Delino DeShields. He was scolding me that Delino didn’t know the seven ways to make the double play. I thought, ‘Why would he come over and berate me about my player? OK, these guys must love him.’”
Duquette stored that. The Dodgers feared Marintez’s slight frame made him an injury risk. Duquette banked on glowing scouting reports from (eventual Red Sox manager) Kevin Kennedy and Tim Johnson, both of whom had managed Pedro in the minors with the Dodgers before they joined the Expos. Duquette said his right-hand man, Eddie Haas, “talked (GM) Fred Claire into giving Pedro to us in Montreal and talked Jim Beattie into giving him to us in Boston.”
The Red Sox trade involved two challenges: Getting the Expos to agree to the players they would receive, and signing Martinez to a long-term contract. Duquette said Expos owner Claude Brochu and retired pitching great Juan Marichal deserve assists.
“The Yankees offered some really good players, but Claude didn’t want George (Steinbrenner) getting him,” Duquette said. “So we just needed to come close to what the Yankees were offering. I’ve always said Pedro wasn’t a gift from God to the Red Sox, he was a gift from Claude.”
Duquette had come to know Marichal from scouting alongside him when he was working for the A’s. Duquette knew that Martinez idolized Marichal.
“I told Juan we’re trading for Pedro and he said, ‘That’s wonderful. Boston would be a great place for him. He would love it there. The fans there would love him, and when his career is over he’ll be able to work for the ballclub,” Duquette said. “I said, ‘Would you tell him that, Juan?’ ‘Yeah, I will. I will.’ He called him. I think Juan Marichal had a lot to do with him signing.”
So it’s no surprise that Duquette will forever cherish the photograph for which he posed with the first two players from the Dominican Republic to make it to the Hall of Fame, snapped in Cooperstown the weekend of Pedro’s induction.
Red Sox minor-leaguer tests positive for COVID-19
Bill Koch
An unidentified Red Sox minor-league player has tested positive for the coronavirus.
Boston made the announcement in a statement late Tuesday night. The Red Sox said the player’s positive test was confirmed on Monday.
Boston said the player was at home when he learned the test result. The player was last at the club’s JetBlue Park complex on March 15 and had since departed Fort Myers, Fla.
“Given the timing of the player’s positive test and travel, we believe it is more likely that he contracted COVID-19 after he left Fort Myers,” the statement read. “Nevertheless, out of an abundance of caution, the club is shutting down Fenway South from all activity effective today, for at least two weeks.”
The Red Sox said the complex would undergo a “deep cleaning to fully disinfect the facility.” Also known as Fenway South, Boston’s spring training home features a 10,823-seat stadium, several surrounding fields, multiple clubhouses, indoor batting cages, a weight room and an on-site dining room.
“We want to note that the player who tested positive is doing well, and the club is following (Major League Baseball) suggested protocols, CDC guidelines, and local public health recommendations for care,” the statement read. “Finally, out of respect for his privacy, we will not comment further regarding the player’s situation.”
MLB suspended all formal spring training activities on March 13, and all players were given the option of returning home or remaining at their respective facilities. Per interim manager Ron Roenicke, Boston had at least 15 players on site for workouts a week ago and eight more on Thursday. Red Sox CEO/president Sam Kennedy said the club formed its own internal task force to combat the coronavirus pandemic on March 4 and began implementing new cleaning and behavioral procedures the following day.
“Obviously when these types of things happen there’s no script,” Kennedy said in a March 13 conference call. “There’s no playbook. Those of us with the Red Sox right now are guided by one thing, and that’s public safety. We’re trying to use common sense to the extent that we can.”
Boston conducted a three-day deep clean of Fenway Park beginning on March 14. Kennedy said he had been in regular contact with Massachusetts health officials and members of government. The Red Sox spoke directly with Gov. Charlie Baker and Boston mayor Martin Walsh regarding its plan going forward.
“It’s a new world for all of us,” Kennedy said. “We’re going to have to adjust. We’re all parents and we all have parents. It’s an unsettling time for all of us.”
MLB has announced two postponements of the upcoming regular season, the latest coming last Monday. Opening Day will be held May 10 at the earliest in accordance with CDC guidelines restricting gatherings of 50 or more people.
* MassLive.com
Jackie Bradley Jr.’s longterm successor? Boston Red Sox prospects Jarren Duran, Gilberto Jimenez have ‘game-changing speed’
Christopher Smith
The 2020 MLB season is suspended right now because of the coronavirus outbreak. So let’s look beyond 2020 and try to identify the Red Sox’s next longterm center fielder.
Gold Glove center fielder Jackie Bradley Jr. is eligible for free agency after this season. He will earn $11 million in his final year of arbitration. He said in January he’s not focused on his pending free agency.
Jarren Duran — who impressed so much during spring training — is one of the leading candidates to replace Bradley longterm, the way Bradley replaced Jacoby Ellsbury after 2013.
The two top candidates Jarren Duran
Baseball America ranked the 2018 seventh-round draft pick Boston’s No. 5 prospect entering 2020. It listed him the system’s best hitter for average and described his speed as “game-changing" (70 steals, 19 triples in 199 minor league games).
The Red Sox moved him from second base to center field to take advantage of his speed. He still is learning jumps and routes to fly balls, but Red Sox interim manager Ron Roenicke said Duran’s speed should make him “a tremendous defensive outfielder.”
The 23-year-old left-handed hitter has batted .322 with a .376 on-base percentage, .446 slugging percentage and .823 OPS in 880 minor league plate appearances.
Baseball America noted, “There’s still some debate as to whether Duran’s offensive profile is that of an everyday or fourth outfielder. Even with his speed, he must either hit for a high average or show more power to emerge as an everyday player. Still, he has the potential to be a catalyst.”
Gilberto Jimenez
We heard so much about Duran’s elite speed during spring training. But the Baseball America 2020 Prospect Handbook listed Jimenez, a switch-hitter, as being the fastest base runner in the Red Sox system. It also named him the best athlete.
The 19-year-old Dominican Republic native batted .359 with a .393 on-base percentage, .470 slugging percentage, .863 OPS, 11 doubles, three triples, three homers, 19 RBIs and 14 steals in 59 games (253 plate appearances) for Short Season Lowell in 2019.
Baseball America ranked him Boston’s No. 8 prospect. MLB Pipeline, which ranked him No. 5, noted “Jimenez has game-changing speed that earns top-of-the-scale grades from some evaluators. He uses it to turn routine grounders into hits, should be a dynamic basestealer once he improves his technique and covers plenty of ground in center field, where he also displays a plus arm.”
He has four- or five-tool potential, assistant GM Eddie Romero said. Whether he can add power remains to be seen.
Don’t expect him in Boston anytime soon though. Baseball America wrote, “He’s raw and thus unlikely to fast track, but if everything clicks, he could sit near the top of the Red Sox prospect lists in coming years.”
Red Sox could move Andrew Benintendi center field The Red Sox could move Benintendi to center field in 2021 and convert one of their several infield prospects, such as Bobby Dalbec and C.J. Chatham, to left field.
Earlier this week, MassLive.com mentioned both Dalbec and Chatham among the nine internal options to take over at second base longterm.
Chatham, a second baseman/shortstop, started one game in left field during the Arizona Fall League.
Dalbec has played first and third base but never outfield in the pros. That said, the Baseball America 2019 Prospect Handbook projected him as Boston’s 2022 starting left fielder. The 2020 handbook listed him as Boston’s 2023 DH.
The Red Sox discussed Michael Chavis receiving outfield reps in winter ball, but he never played because of an oblique injury.
Other Red Sox outfield prospects Nick Decker: The 20-year-old left-handed hitter, a 2018 second-round draft pick, batted .247 with a .328 on-base percentage, .471 slugging percentage, .799 OPS, six homers, 10 doubles, five triples and 25 RBIs in 53 games (195 plate appearances) for Short Season Lowell in 2019. He started 50 games in right field and two games in center field.
Baseball America ranked him No. 19 in the system entering 2020, noting, “Decker showed enough flashes of explosiveness — in tandem with a solid arm and defense in right field — to suggest a player with the upside of an everyday contributor.”
Tyler Esplin: The 2017 seventh-round pick out of IMG Academy batted .253 with a .326 on-base percentage, .375 slugging percentage, .701 OPS, five homers, 26 doubles, three triples and 43 RBIs in 100 games (436 plate appearances) a Low-A Greenville. The 20-year-old is a left-handed hitter.
Baseball America ranked him Boston’s No. 26 entering 2020 and wrote, “team officials ... believe he has enough run production potential with the ability to offer average outfield defense, a formula that gives him a solid chance at a platoon future.”
Eduardo Lopez: Boston signed the 17-year-old switch-hitter to a $1.15 million signing bonus out of the Dominican Republic.
He batted .255 with a .372 on-base percentage, .363 slugging percentage, .735 OPS, seven doubles, eight triples, 25 RBIs and 18 stolen bases in 60 games (253 plate appearances) in the Dominican Summer League 1 during 2019. He made all 48 of his starts in center field.
Bryan Gonzalez: The 18-year-old Dominican Republic native batted .251 with a .341 on-base percentage, .435 slugging percentage, .777 OPS, nine homers, 12 doubles, four triples, 41 RBIs and seven steals in the Dominican Summer League 2. The right-handed hitter started 37 games in right field and three games in center field.
Darel Belen: The 19-year-old Dominican Republic native batted .281 with a .370 on-base percentage, .430 slugging percentage, .800 OPS, five homers, 11 doubles, five triples, 39 RBIs and 14 steals in 64 games (281 plate appearances) in the Dominican Summer League 1 during 2019. The right-handed hitter started 24 games in right field, seven games in left field and 14 games at first base. He also played seven innings in center field.
Coronavirus: Boston Red Sox minor leaguer has COVID-19, club shutting down Fenway South complex for two weeks
Chris Cotillo
A Red Sox minor league player has tested positive for COVID-19 (coronavirus), the team announced Tuesday evening. The player, whose identity was not revealed, received the results of his positive test Monday and is “doing well,” according to the team.
The player was last at the team’s complex in Fort Myers on March 15 -- just a couple days after the league suspended spring training -- and the team believes it’s “more likely” he contracted the virus after leaving Fort Myers. The player is recovering at home after receiving the result of his positive test.
The team’s Fenway South facility is being shut down from all activity, effective today, for at least two weeks, and all players and staff who came into close contact with the player who tested positive have been advised to self-quarantine for two weeks.
While all official workouts at the Fenway South facility ended shortly after spring training had ended, some players -- including those who lived in the area and those who had no better place to continue working out - - were still working out on their own at the facility in the last couple of weeks. With the facility shut down, the group of players still in the area will have to relocate their baseball activities for at least the next two weeks.
The Fenway South facility and JetBlue Park are both undergoing a deep cleaning, according to the club.
“During this pandemic, the health and safety of our players and employees and those in our community is prioritized over all else,” a team spokesman said in a statement. “The club will continue to follow recommendations set forth by health officials, Major League Baseball, and our own medical team.”
Two minor leaguers in the Yankees system previously tested positive for COVID-19. The Red Sox minor leaguer is the third professional baseball player known to have tested positive.
Coronavirus: Boston Red Sox debut new temporary logo to promote social distancing
Chris Cotillo
In an effort to promote social distancing during the coronavirus pandemic, the Red Sox released a new logo Tuesday.
The team’s iconic socks were separated in the new iteration of the logo, which debuted on the team’s Twitter account. The change is, obviously, just a temporary one, but timely during a stretch in which people are being told to stay at least six feet away from each other or stay at home.
The Red Sox, like the rest of the sports world, are on pause because of the pandemic. Major League Baseball shut down spring training and indefinitely delayed the start of its season earlier this month, and it’s unclear exactly when Opening Day will take place.
The team’s Twitter account has stayed active during the shutdown. The account’s bio appropriately reminds fans to wash their hands.
* RedSox.com
Sox Minor Leaguer tests positive for COVID-19
Ian Browne
BOSTON -- The Red Sox announced on Tuesday that one of their Minor League players has tested positive for COVID-19, and the club will shut down Fenway South/JetBlue Park in Fort Myers, Fla., for at least two weeks.
The player received the positive test in his hometown on Monday and was last seen at Fenway South on March 15.
Though many Red Sox players have left Florida in recent days, some had remained for daily workouts at the team’s complex in Fort Myers.
The following was part of a statement released by Red Sox spokesman Kevin Gregg:
“Given the timing of the player’s positive test and travel, we believe it is more likely that he contracted COVID-19 after he left Fort Myers. Nevertheless, out of an abundance of caution, the club is shutting down Fenway South from all activity effective today, for at least two weeks. In the meantime, Fenway South/JetBlue Park will undergo a “deep cleaning” to fully disinfect the facility.
“Following the advice of healthcare professionals, the club has instructed all players and staff who came into close contact with the affected player to self-quarantine for a period of two weeks.
“During this pandemic, the health and safety of our players and employees and those in our community is prioritized over all else. The club will continue to follow recommendations set forth by health officials, Major League Baseball, and our own medical team.
“We want to note that the player who tested positive is doing well, and the club is following MLB suggested protocols, CDC guidelines, and local public health recommendations for care. Finally, out of respect for his privacy, we will not comment further regarding the player’s situation.”
This is the first known positive test by any member of the Red Sox organization.
The Yankees recently had two Minor League players test positive for COVID-19, but their Minor League complex is at a different location than George M. Steinbrenner Field, where a collection of Major League players are still able to participate in voluntary workouts.
Due to the coronavirus pandemic, MLB canceled the rest of the Spring Training schedule on March 12. It hasn’t been determined yet when the regular season will start.
* ESPN.com
Red Sox minor leaguer tests positive for coronavirus
Joon Lee
A Boston Red Sox minor league player has tested positive for COVID-19, the team announced on Tuesday. The player received the results of his positive test on Monday and is "doing well" according to a team announcement. His identity has not been revealed.
The unnamed player was last at the Red Sox complex in Fort Myers on March 15, three days after Major League Baseball officially suspended its season, according to the announcement. The team believes the player contracted the virus after he left Fort Myers, but the Red Sox are shutting down operations at their Fenway South facilities for the next two weeks and will perform a deep cleaning to disinfect the buildings.
"During this pandemic, the health and safety of our players and employees and those in our community is prioritized over all else," a team spokesman said in a statement. "The club will continue to follow recommendations set forth by health officials, Major League Baseball and our own medical team."
All playoffs, status quo and more: What the 2020 MLB season could look like once (if?) it gets going The player is now recovering at home after receiving the results of the positive test, and all players and staff who came in contact have been advised to self-quarantine for the next two weeks. Two minor leaguers in the Yankees system previously tested positive for the coronavirus, with the Red Sox minor leaguer marking the third known professional baseball player to test positive.
Several players, including many who live in the Fort Myers area, continued working out at the Fenway South after the suspension of the season. The Red Sox said most coaches have gone home, but players have still been showing up, with around 8 to 15 players showing up daily, according to interim manager Ron Roenicke.
"We do have a crew there, a reduced crew, of medical staff, and we have guys who are able to work out with players who are coming," Roenicke said last week. "They are showing up in waves. So the pitchers are showing up first in the morning. The guys who are in the area. And then in the afternoon, the guys who are still there, the regulars are showing up to hit in the batting cages and to stay sharp that way."
In a conference call with the Boston media last Thursday, chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom said he would not be surprised if someone in the organization contracted the virus that has shut down the United States in recent weeks.
"That's something we're being very vigilant in monitoring," Bloom said last week. "You look around the way this is going, we know it's very, very possible it's going to happen at some point. So we're just trying to make sure everybody is educated and stay in touch with everybody."
* WEEI.com
Red Sox minor leaguer tests positive for COVID-19
Rob Bradford
The Red Sox announced Tuesday night that one of their minor league players has tested positive for COVID-19 (coronavirus). The positive test occurred on March 23 following his return home. He was last at the Fenway South Development Complex on March 15.
The team stated that given the timing of the player's positive test and travel it is believed more likely that he contracted COVID-19 after leaving Fort Myers.
The club is shutting down Fenway South from all activity effective Tuesday for as least two weeks. In the meantime, Fenway South/JetBlue Park will undergo a "deep cleaning" to fully disinfect the facility.
Following the advice of healthcare professionals, the club has instructed all players and staff who came into close contact with the affected player to self-quarantine for a period of two weeks.
The Red Sox say the player who tested positive is doing well, and the club is following MLB suggested protocols, CDC guidelines, and local public health recommendations for care.
* The Athletic
Let’s revisit the drama, and the euphoria, of ’04 Red Sox Game 4 win vs. Yankees
Jen McCaffrey
With baseball on a hiatus for who knows how long, we’ve decided to take a look back at some classic Red Sox games to fill the void.
What better way to distract ourselves from the current state of the world than re-watching with one of the best games in Red Sox history — Game 4 of the 2004 American League Championship Series.
While that series is etched in the memories of many New Englanders, sometimes the details get hazy, especially 15 years later. It was a time before smartphones when Facebook was just getting underway and Twitter hadn’t even been developed yet.
If you want to rewatch the whole game (sans commercials), here you go. But even without the commercials, it’s still four hours long. So let’s walk down Memory Lane.
Part 1: Innings 1-3 • I might be one of the few who liked the Joe Buck-Tim McCarver tandem. They called some of the biggest games in Red Sox history from 2003-2013 for Fox. I never understood why some people despised them.
Buck opened the first inning as Derek Lowe took the mound with a note I’d almost forgotten. Tim Wakefield was supposed to start Game 4, but because the Red Sox had gotten shellacked 19-8 the previous night, Wakefield gave up his start to save the bullpen with 3-1/3 innings in Game 3.
“The Red Sox have no idea what to expect from Derek Lowe tonight,” Buck said. “Here’s a guy who during the regular season won 14 games. He won 21 games two years ago, and 17 last year. He’s been upset and not quiet about being upset that he’s been banished to the bullpen so far this postseason. A free- agent to be. What an opportunity.”
Lowe had made just one appearance that October in Game 3 of the division series against Anaheim. He pitched one scoreless inning.
• At one point in the first inning, the Fox cameras panned to Yankees GM Brian Cashman in the stands. Cashman, who was 37 but looked about 17, had already been on the job for six years. That he still holds the same job today is mind-boggling. Meanwhile, Theo Epstein was in his second full year in Boston and actually was 17 (just kidding, he was 30 — also mind-boggling that he held that job at such a young age).
• Orlando Hernandez, who started for the Yankees, hadn’t pitched since Oct. 1 because was dealing with dead arm. He was hitting just 81 mph in the division series for New York, but Buck and McCarver said he’d gotten back up to 87-88. In the first inning, he sat around 90-91 mph.
• Manny Ramirez, who had 130 RBIs in the regular season, hadn’t driven in a run in the first three games of the series, largely because he’d only had three chances with men on base. Johnny Damon was 1-for-14 in the leadoff spot and Mark Bellhorn, who had been hitting second before being moved down in the order for Game 4, was 1-for-12.
A Red Sox offense that scored a major league-leading 949 runs in the regular season was lost.
• Do you remember the goofy animated graphic called Scooter that would pop onto the Fox broadcast to explain different pitches? It was weird then, it’s weird now.
“Hey this is Scooter. You know a sweeping curveball can save my gorgeous face from getting smacked. I scoot from one side of the plate to the other and down at the same time. So remember, a sweeping curveball sweeps right over home plate.”
Thanks, Scooter.
• Hideki Matsui was unstoppable in the first four games, going 11-for-20, but a mere footnote over the final three games going 3-for-14.
The first key moment came in the second inning with one out. With Matsui on third and Jorge Posada at the plate, Red Sox manager Terry Francona opted to pull his infield in to prevent the run from scoring. In a must-win game, no matter the inning, it was a wise move that paid off. Posada grounded to short and Orlando Cabrera threw home to get Matsui, keeping the game scoreless.
“A terrific move by Terry Francona,” McCarver said. “It pays off big for the Red Sox.”
• One thing that stands out: the dugouts in 2004 didn’t have railings like they currently do. The players just awkwardly sit on the steps of the dugout, instead of hanging over the padded mesh railing like we see now.
• Derek Jeter, who’d been just 2-for-12 in the series, singled off Lowe in the third before Alex Rodriguez came to the plate and smashed a homer over the monster onto Lansdowne Street. Yankees 2, Red Sox 0
Buck reminds the TV audience: “There was a $12 million difference in money when the Red Sox were so close to making A-Rod a part of their team. That deal fell apart. The Yankees swooped in. They were willing to trade Alfonso Soriano, and they got Alex Rodriguez and switched him to third base…”
As Buck is talking, the ball Rodriguez hit onto Lansdowne seemingly gets thrown back onto the field near Damon, who, instead of tossing it out of play, throws it back into the stands. Seconds later, the ball lands back on the field, much to the delight of the crowd, which is seemingly in search of anything to lift its spirits. Finally second base umpire Joe West picks it up and puts it in his pocket so play can resume. A faint “Yankees Suck” chant starts in the stands, but quietly dissipates with the likely realization of the score and series standings.
• With the Yankees leading 2-0 in the third, Buck mentions they are about to make it to the World Series for the seventh time in nine seasons, another wild would-be fact. (Now, the Yankees have gone 10 straight seasons without making it to the World Series.)
Part 2: Innings 4-6 • Buck mentions the Red Sox have only led for a total of seven minutes in the series, when they had a 4-3 lead in Game 3.
• The game grounds to a near-standstill in the top of the fifth with Rodriguez at the plate. Tony Clark singled and was on second base with two outs. Cabrera visited Lowe on the mound, then Jason Varitek came out. Lowe shook him off a couple times and Varitek came back out a second time. The six-pitch sequence to Rodriguez lasted five minutes, but felt like half an hour. Rodriguez grounded out to third to end it.
• The game was played on a Sunday night, so Fox ran a ticker of NFL scores and stats. The Patriots beat the Seahawks that day, 30-20, with Tom Brady going 19-for-31 with 231 yards a touchdown and interception.
• In the bottom of the fifth, Damon, who entered the at-bat 1-for-15 in the series, beat out a would-be double play to put runners at first and third with two outs. It gave the Red Sox a bit of life.
Cameras panned to show the white posters given out by WEEI that read “WE STILL BELIEVE.”
Cabrera drove in Bill Mueller with the first run on an RBI single to right. Manny Ramirez then walked as Guillermo Heredia and Tanyon Sturtze warmed in the Yankees bullpen. Yankees 2, Red Sox 1
(Another reminder of the times shows behind home plate an ad: “Swing batter! Highlights on AOL” with the familiar yellow AOL stick figure graphic.)
Hernandez stayed in to face Ortiz and Buck — as he’s apt to do —foreshadowed the at-bat and the game’s outcome: “A guy who got one big hit after another for the Red Sox this season and last.”
Ortiz slapped a hit to right-center to score two more runs. Red Sox 3, Yankees 2
• The Red Sox took their lead into the sixth, but after a Matsui triple to the triangle with one out, Francona lifted Lowe in favor of Mike Timlin, who hadn’t pitched in four days. The crowd gave Lowe a standing ovation as he walked off the mound.
Like the second inning, Francona pulled the infield in with Matsui on third, but Matsui scored anyway on a chopper to short. Yankees 3, Red Sox 3
“Last night the Red Sox had a lead for seven minutes, tonight for 16 minutes,” Buck said.
• The inning then unraveled a bit on the Red Sox. Varitek threw out Williams trying to advance to third, but Bellhorn threw a ball wide at first. Another hard shot from Clark was knocked down by Bellhorn but he couldn’t make the play at first and Posada scored the go-ahead run. Yankees 4, Red Sox 3
• The crowd then chanted “Pokey, Pokey” for Pokey Reese to replace Bellhorn.
The Fox cameras panned to a fan in the stands wearing a paper bag over his head drinking a beer. The bag read: “Who’s my daddy?” (A reference to the taunt Yankees fans yelled at Martinez in New York.)
Another fan held a sign that read: “I can’t believe we fell for it AGAIN.”
“That’s been the tone up here in Boston and throughout New England,” Buck said. “The fans and the media, everybody falling for this Red Sox team, a team that’s fun to watch, a team that finished three games out in the AL East, a team that was favored coming into this series, but right now a team that’s down three games to none and trailing Game 4, 4-3 in the sixth.”
• In the seventh inning, Francona had closer Keith Foulke starting to warm.
“It’s only a one-run lead for the Yankees but you get the feeling this crowd feels like it’s a much bigger lead,” Buck said.
Timlin got an out and Francona turned to Foulke with one out in the seventh to face Matsui. I’d forgotten Foulke came into the game so early.
“Matsui has a chance to make sure his name is on that MVP trophy of the ALCS if he can come through for the Yankees,” Buck said. “He drove in five runs in Game 1. Last night was 5-for-6 with five RBIs, two doubles and two homers, and tonight a triple and a double
Matsui grounded out to first.
Part 3: Innings 7-9 • Back from a commercial break, Rivera warmed in the Yankees bullpen.
“You get a feeling that someday that weighted ball that Mariano Rivera uses to get his arm loose before he starts to toss will end up in Cooperstown,” Buck said.
McCarver responds: “I don’t know if the weighted ball will, but its owner will.”
Buck cites the Red Sox’s long odds to come back, really reinforcing the dire circumstance.
“We talk about no teams coming back to win a best-of-seven series down three games to none in baseball postseason history,” Buck said. “Only two teams have forced as many as six games. The ’98 Braves, the ’99 Mets.”
A graphic followed: Teams with 0-3 deficit in 7-game series have lost all 25 times, 20 of 25 have been swept.
• As the game went to the bottom of the eighth, “Sweet Caroline” played in the background with fans cheering along. So in that sense, not much as changed.
• Rivera took the mound against Ramirez with another graphic flashing his postseason dominance: 8-1, 32 saves in 35 saves, 0.69 ERA
“He’s been the closest thing to automatic in the postseason as you will ever find,” Buck said.
More signs in the crowd”: “It’s not over” and “Believe.”
Rivera allowed a leadoff single in the eighth to Ramirez but it was a tease as he then got Ortiz, Varitek and Trot Nixon out.
• More signs in the crowd:
“Make history or we’re history” “Patriots 20 in a row! Red Sox four in a row! Let’s make history!” “Please just ONE time before I die”
• Al Leiter, the third man in the booth with Buck and McCarver, mentioned that the last time Foulke had a three-inning appearance was in the 2003 division series while pitching for Oakland against the Red Sox. But after walking Jeter to start the inning, Foulke worked an uneventful ninth.
• In the bottom of the inning, Rivera came out again.
Another graphic offered this reminder for Rivera:
Blown saves since 2001: vs. Boston: 7 in 22 chances vs. rest of MLB: 12 in 170 chances • As Kevin Millar came to the plate and eventually walked, the clock turned to midnight.
“Pinch-runner Dave Roberts is going to come in for Millar,” Buck said. “He can run. Picked up from the Dodgers. Bill Mueller is at the plate. On the 24th of July with Mueller at the plate and Rivera on the mound, this won it for Boston.”
The broadcast then showed Mueller’s walk-off homer in a game that foreshadowed this series.
• Roberts took a massive lead off first base. Before Rivera even threw a pitch to Mueller, he threw over to first base three times.
After the third time, the booth narrated:
Buck: “That was close.”
Leiter: “He’s going.”
Buck: “Mueller still waiting for his first pitch — Roberts is going — Posada’s throw — Roberts… safe.”
The crowd roared in the background.
“Roberts was 38 for 41 in stolen bases, nearly perfect,” Leiter said.
• Two pitches later, Mueller smacked the ball up the middle to tie it as Roberts scored. The broadcast crew went silent for 30 seconds as the crowd cheered. The cameras found a stone-faced Cashman juxtaposed by elation in the Red Sox dugout. Red Sox 4, Yankees 4
Buck reminded viewers it’s Rivera’s first blown save against the Red Sox in the postseason.
Doug Mientkiewicz moved Mueller to second and he went to third when Damon hit a bouncer to first that he reached on when Clark bobbled it.
Cabrera struck out on three pitches and Ramirez came to the plate with two on. A red and blue lettered sign in the stands read “Manny-fest destiny” as the tension built.
Ramirez walked to load the bases for Ortiz, but Ortiz weakly popped out to second.
Part 4: Innings 10-12 • Mientkiewicz took over at first and Reese at second with Alan Embree pitching as the game hit the four- hour mark.
Former Red Sox reliever Tom Gordon warmed for the Yankees with Rivera in the dugout.
• “Leaving the manager’s office seven hours ago, Terry Francona bid us adieu saying, ‘See you tomorrow,’” McCarver said. “Joe Torre said, ‘See you next Saturday.’”
• With Timlin and Foulke out of the game, the Red Sox bullpen was bare bones.
“After Embree in the Red Sox bullpen, they are thin, thin, thin,” Buck said. “They have Mendoza, they have Leskanic, they have Mike Myers. Mendoza and Leskanic two guys who struggled here last night in Game 3.”
McCarver noted the longer the game went, the more it favored the Yankees because of Boston’s lack of bullpen depth.
• Embree walked Gary Sheffield and Francona turned to Myers for Matsui, who homered off Myers the previous night. The sidearming Myers couldn’t find the plate and walked Matsui to load the bases.
Francona then turned to Leskanic, who only lasted a third of an inning in Game 3 when he allowed a three- run homer to Sheffield.
Leskanic got out of the jam by getting Williams to fly out to center.
• As the clock turned to 1 a.m., Buck reminded viewers Game 5, if there was one, would begin in 16 hours.
Damon got on in the bottom of the 11th but was stranded. Leskanic came back out for the 12th and tossed a scoreless inning.
The Fox cameras showed fans burying their faces in their hands.
• Paul Quantrill (whose son, Cal, the Red Sox were pursuing this winter in a deal with the San Diego Padres) took the mound for the Yankees with Ramirez up.
Another graphic flashed across the screen: The only team down 0-3 to win Game 4 in extra innings was the 1910 Cubs
Ramirez singled to left field off Quantrill to bring up Ortiz.
Three pitches later, Ortiz turned on an 88 mph 2-1 pitch.
“Ortiz to deep right field. Back is Sheffield. We’ll see you later tonight,” Buck bellowed. Red Sox 6, Yankees 4
Ortiz’s teammates mobbed him at home with Millar grabbing Ortiz and Ramirez by the neck.
“A 5-hour-2-minute game and worth every second of it for the Boston Red Sox and these fans are staying at Fenway Park,” Buck said.
On the field, Ortiz spoke with Fox sideline reporter Chris Myers, “I hope we come back with the same attitude tomorrow and keep winning because that’s what this series is all about.”
As we all know, they did, rewriting the record books en route to an historic comeback that knocked off the Yankees in four straight wins and then led to the team’s first World Series title in 86 years.
* The New York Post
Red Sox reveal minor leaguer tests positive for coronavirus
Elio Velez
The Boston Red Sox announced Tuesday that a minor league player had tested positive for the coronavirus.
The unidentified player received the diagnosis on Monday, and is doing well, the Red Sox said in a statement. The team also said the player, the first in the Red Sox organization to test positive for the virus, had “more than likely” contracted the illness after leaving the Fenway South Red Sox training facility in Fort Myers on March 15.
As a precaution, the Red Sox will shut down the ballpark and surrounding buildings for the next two weeks and will do a “deep cleaning” to disinfect the facility.
“Following the advice of healthcare professionals, the club has instructed all players and staff who came into close contact with the affected player to self-quarantine for a period of two weeks,” the Red Sox said in a statement.
Two Yankees minor leaguers also have tested positive for the virus after taking part in spring training at the club’s minor league complex in Tampa. The Red Sox and Yankees are the only MLB franchises to have a known coronavirus case among their players.
There were still a few Red Sox players who have been training voluntarily at the Fenway South facility since MLB spring training was canceled on March 12. Those players now cannot return to the facility for two weeks and must train elsewhere.
* The Fort Myers News-Press
Red Sox minor leaguer tests positive for coronavirus, JetBlue Park shut down for deep clean
Ed Reed
An unidentified Boston Red Sox minor league player has tested positive for coronavirus and the Fenway South complex has been shut down for the next two weeks, the team announced Tuesday night.
The team believes the player, who tested positive on March 23, likely contracted COVID-19 after he left the Fenway South Player Development Complex on March 15. The player, who the team is not identifying for privacy concerns, is recovering at home and is “doing well,” according to the team.
More: Red Sox players can stay in Fort Myers, but questions remain as coronavirus halts baseball
The team has shut down Fenway South for at least two weeks and the complex, including JetBlue Park, "will fully undergo a "deep cleaning" to fully disinfect the facility," the team said."
The club also instructed all players and staff who came into close contact with the player who tested positive have been told to self-quarantine for two weeks.
“During this pandemic, the health and safety of our players and employees and those in our community is prioritized over all else,” a team spokesman said in a release. “The club will continue to follow recommendations set forth by health officials, Major League Baseball, and our own medical team.”
All Boston official workouts ended shortly after spring training was canceled but, some players were still training on their own at the facility.
“Players can leave if they want," Chief Baseball Officer Red Sox Bloom said at a March 13 news conference at Fenway South. "Players here can stay. If they do, they can work out at JetBlue Park, hit in the batting cage, throw from a practice mound, lift weights and work with trainers.
“I don’t have a sense how many may stay here.”
Red Sox minor leaguer tests positive for virus, complex shut
BOSTON (AP) — A minor league player for the Boston Red Sox has tested positive for the coronavirus, prompting the team to close down its training complex in Fort Myers, Florida.
The Red Sox made the announcement Tuesday, a day after the positive diagnosis. The team didn't identify the player, but said he was doing well.
Earlier this month, the New York Yankees said two of its minor leaguers had the virus. Those were the first two players affiliated with a big league organization known to test positive.
Major League Baseball has postponed opening day until at least mid-May because of the virus outbreak.
The Red Sox said their affected player was most recently at the spring training site on March 15. Boston said based on the timing of his test, it believed he most likely got the virus after leaving Fort Myers.
The Fenway South/JetBlue Park complex was closed Tuesday for at least two weeks and will undergo a "deep cleaning."
The Red Sox said any players or staff members who came into close contact with the affected minor leaguer should self-quarantine for two weeks.