The Boston Red Sox Saturday, July 4, 2020

* The Boston Globe

Friendly Fenway feels different, but baseball is back in Boston

Peter Abraham

Ron Roenicke has been in professional baseball for 43 years ago as a player, coach, and now manager of the Red Sox. He thought he had experienced all the game had to offer.

But he wasn’t ready for this week and the jumble of regulations involved in putting his team back on the field during a pandemic.

“This is the craziest time and the busiest time I’ve ever had in baseball,” Roenicke said Friday as the Sox gathered to prepare for a season none of them can be sure will actually happen.

“I’ve never made so many phone calls. I’ve never made so many text messages in a day, every single day. It’s been really crazy.”

The Sox hoped to have 48 players at Fenway Park for their first time together as a team since March 12, but multiple players tested positive for COVID-19 and weren’t in attendance. How many, Major League Baseball didn’t allow the Red Sox to say.

Lefthanded pitcher Eduardo Rodriguez remained at home in Florida waiting for the result of his test after being around a person who had symptoms typical for COVID-19. Some others had yet to arrive in Boston, or were similarly waiting for results.

MLB reported that 31 players and seven staff members league wide tested positive, 1.2 percent of the 3,185 samples collected. Nineteen of the 30 teams had at least one positive test.

The Red Sox players who were at Fenway Park weren’t permitted in the clubhouse. To promote social distancing, the suites on the third level of the ballpark were converted into two-man locker rooms.

Infielder Michael Chavis was so impressed when he first walked into the suite he’ll share with new right fielder Alex Verdugo that he backed out and took out his phone to record a video of the experience.

Chavis embraced the experience, strange as it was at first.

“Just having a conversation with somebody that hasn’t been in my house the last three months, it’s incredible,” he said.

The Sox also installed a batting cage in the first-base concourse and moved the equipment from the weight room to the same area because medical experts feel an open-air environment lessens the chances of transmitting the virus.

“I know you can do everything right and still get this virus,” Roenicke said. “But I know also that if you’re doing things right, your percentages go way down.”

Still, all the precautions left Fenway feeling oddly cold and unwelcome. There were several white tents set up as testing centers and new signs posted on nearly every pillar or wall, even in the dugouts, reminding you to wear a mask, wash your hands, and maintain social distance.

“Be well,” said another sign. As though it were that easy.

Handshakes and hugs are forbidden, but there was baseball on the field for the first time since September, and those moments allowed you to believe that maybe a season can come together.

“I know you can’t really see the smiles on us, because we’ve got our masks on,” said Roenicke, who spoke via a Zoom call to reporters just a few floors away in the press box.

Martin Perez and Ryan Weber threw in the bullpen. Other pitchers went through defensive drills, and there were several rounds of batting practice.

Verdugo, one of the players acquired from the Los Angeles Dodgers for Mookie Betts in February, showed a compact, powerful swing that sprayed line drives around the field. He was still recovering from back surgery when spring training came to a sudden halt, but is ready to go now.

The Sox plan to work out every day until the season starts, on either July 23 or 24. If the pitching staff exceeds what are low expectations, they could even contend for a playoff spot.

However it works out, Roenicke believes baseball is doing the right thing by trying to have a 60-game season.

“Just seeing the faces of the guys as they walked on the field today made it pretty nice,” he said. “They were excited to be back in baseball again. Being back on the field made everybody feel good.”

Here is what Michael Chavis had to say on Day 1 of Red Sox’ ‘summer camp'

Julian McWilliams

Michael Chavis made the long drive from Fort Myers, Fla., to Boston about two weeks ago after learning there would be a Major League Baseball season. The estimated time it would take? Twenty hours and 54 minutes. A straight shot up I-95. Chavis shared this information on his Twitter account with a caption that read, “IT DONT MATTAH BECAUSE WE’RE PLAYIN BASEBALL!!!!”

That’s the hope, of course. The league is proceeding cautiously during the coronavirus pandemic. But Chavis’s optimism can’t be curbed. At his core, he’s a baseball player. That’s all he’s ever wanted to do since he was a kid, growing up in Georgia.

“When I was in trouble for something in school, [my parents] would take away hitting,” Chavis said last year. “That’s not a joke.”

The pandemic was the only thing that could tear Chavis away from baseball. Being back in his element Friday for the Red Sox’ first day of summer camp provided him a sense of connectivity to what he loves, even if it’s socially distanced.

“I miss baseball,” Chavis said Friday afternoon in a Zoom call. “I miss the Red Sox. I miss the team. Just the opportunity to be back and playing baseball is incredible.”

The Sox entered camp prepared for positive tests for the coronavirus. Manager Ron Roenicke said Friday they had “some.” Chavis understands the seriousness, and it’s why he’s taking every precaution to ensure the safety of himself and his teammates. Nevertheless, being cautious and vigilant during these times, Chavis intimated, doesn’t mean living in fear.

“Everybody knows that this is contagious,” he said. “But it’s one of those things where you continue living in fear and everything like that, that’s out of your control. We’re doing everything we can to prevent it from happening.”

Prevention, though, requires diligence. Diligence, at least this year, means a change of routine. For example, players can chew gum, but they can’t chew tobacco or eat sunflower seeds because that requires spitting. High-fives, handshakes, and fist bumps are prohibited, too. That’s a barrier in any sport, but particularly in baseball because many players rely on habits.

“In regards to ritualistic routines, I haven’t considered it at all,” Chavis said. “Baseball is very routine- oriented and I have my routine. It’s going to be interesting to see how guys use their creativity to engage with fans in a different way, or just change the routine to make the day-to-day aspect either more familiar or more consistent for this season.”

Chavis enters this season with some big-league success. He hit .254 with 18 homers as a rookie last season. There’s a strong chance Chavis will platoon at second with Jose Peraza, and he is capable of shifting over to first base on days Mitch Moreland needs a rest. Chavis struck out 127 times in 382 plate appearances, but the power makes him a force.

The official start of summer camp means the Sox are against the clock. The team has no time to waste, ramping up and getting players ready. Chavis doesn’t think that will be an issue.

“I’m excited to play today,” he said. “I love playing baseball. I, personally, am not going to have an issue getting excited or turning up for a game. My swing feels good. We even hit today, and I feel really good about where my swing is at. I feel really good about what I did in preparation for this time.”

Multiple Red Sox players tested positive for COVID-19

Peter Abraham

The Red Sox had multiple players test positive for COVID-19 this week, and those players were not allowed to take part in Friday’s workout at Fenway Park.

Citing instructions from Major League Baseball, the team would not identify the players or specify how many tested positive.

“We didn’t have everybody come in,” manager Ron Roenicke said. “We do have some positive tests. I won’t be able to give you names on these players.”

Another player, lefthander Eduardo Rodriguez, remains home in Florida after being exposed to a person who was ill.

“He wanted to make sure he was fine,” Roenicke said. “We have tested him. We don’t have the results back yet. When we get those results, obviously, you’ll know. Eddie was fine with me telling you that.”

Roenicke further said he doesn’t want reporters to ask about testing.

“If somebody tests positive as we go through this training camp, we’ll try to let you know,” he said. “But I don’t want to talk about this every day.”

Roenicke also said some players may have to be held out a day after being tested, and he doesn’t want that to become a topic.

“It’s going to come up every day,” said the manager. “We’re tested all the time. It’ll be a little cleaner I think if we just leave it this way. If something does come through camp, I’ll let you guys know.”

McHugh is ready Had the season started on time, righthander Collin McHugh would have been on the injured list recovering from an elbow injury. But with Opening Day now on July 23 or 24 — the schedule is still not out — he could be ready to go.

“I feel pretty comfortable moving forward from here,” he said.

McHugh signed with the Sox on March 5, a week before spring training was shut down.

McHugh was 48-28 with a 3.70 earned run average in 102 starts for Houston from 2014–17. When he went into the bullpen in 2018, his ERA dropped and his strikeout rate climbed.

The Astros moved McHugh back into the rotation last season, but the injury limited him to eight starts.

McHugh said it’s too early to say what role he will take on, but it seems unlikely he could build up enough innings before the season starts. With the Sox potentially using an opener for one rotation spot, McHugh’s experience could serve the team well.

As a member of the MLB Players Association executive subcommittee, McHugh had a front-row seat for the failed negotiations that led to commissioner Rob Manfred implementing a 60-game season.

“We put a lot of time and a lot of effort into trying to make an agreement with the league,” he said. “The logistics made it a little bit more difficult, both on MLB’s side and the players’ side. I think everybody would have hoped we could reach an agreement. At the end of the day, both sides weren’t able to.”

McHugh said many of the proposals were made with the expectation that fans would not be able to attend games this season. Now a number of teams, including the Red Sox, have said they hope fans will be allowed in at some point.

“It does kind of fly in the face of the premises we were negotiating on,” he said. “To that point, it is a little frustrating. If that was the mindset the whole time we probably could have gone down a different path.”

At Giants camp, righthander Jeff Samardzija didn’t hold back on that topic.

“I think there’s going to be fans in the stands,” he said. “I think we’ve seen with these owners, they’re not scared of anything, and they’re not scared to put anyone at risk if they get the opportunity to, especially if it makes them money.”

Building up New pitching coach Dave Bush said the primary starters — Rodriguez, Nate Eovaldi, and Martin Perez — should be able to go five or six innings when the season starts based on the work they have done to this point. The Sox are planning on a five-man rotation. Ryan Weber is positioned to claim the No. 4 slot. The final spot is uncertain … Along with Fenway, the Sox will use the field at Boston College on Friday, primarily for pitchers doing defensive drills and some younger position players … Live batting practice is scheduled to start next Friday … As was the case in spring training, Jason Varitek is with the coaching staff and worked with the catchers on fundamentals.

Dennis Eckersley is not sure what to expect in this oddest of baseball seasons

Dan Shaughnessy

He’s a Hall of Famer with an MVP and a Cy Young trophy in his den. He pitched 24 big league seasons and has been broadcasting Red Sox games for NESN since 2003. But at this hour, Dennis Eckersley doesn’t know much more about the 2020 Red Sox than anybody else. Eck never made it to Florida for any spring training games (the Sox played 21) and admits he has some catching up to do.

“[Expletive], I haven’t even thought about that team,” Eck said with a chuckle. “Seriously. I really haven’t thought about them. I was just about to join them in Florida when all this happened.”

Eckersley has been in California since the baseball world shut down along with everything else in mid- March. He’s planning to return to Greater Boston this coming week and hopes to be broadcasting all 60 Red Sox games along with Jerry Remy and Dave O’Brien when the season begins later this month.

Notice we did not say “expects to be in the booth” or “expects to be on hand at Fenway.”

That’s because Eck won’t actually be at the games he’s telling you about. When Rafael Devers walks to the plate for the first time this year, Eck, RemDawg, and OB will be calling the game from a studio in Watertown near the Arsenal Mall.

“Three in the booth the whole time is going to be good because we need some [expletive] energy,” said Eckersley. “Seriously. It’s going to be dull as a [expletive]. There’s going to be an awkwardness to the whole thing. No big deal, but it’s just going to be robotic.

“The thing that gets me is no fans in the stands. That’s what jumps out at me. At Fenway, there was always a home-field advantage. That’s out the window.

“For me, personally, as a player I was an energy guy. The older I got, the harder time I had throwing at spring training. Seeing a packed ballpark would get me fired up.

“Everybody’s in the same boat, I know that, but you’ve got to get fired up. There is urgency. There’s not that many games, so everybody is playing harder. But you don’t realize the energy that comes from being in a full ballpark. You play better. It makes you as good an athlete as you can be when you add the crowd. It’s that focus and energy.

"Think about it. It's the ninth inning and you're warming up and there's nobody to hoot on you on the road. There's nothing there except you don't want to mess this up and hurt your team.

“It will be meaningful to guys who are playing out their contracts, but what if you’re on a team that starts off 10-20? You’re already out of it. It’ll be so easy to say, ‘I’m having a bad year. This is just nonsense anyway.’ And then you go right down the toilet.

“To me, we’re going to see the best from the strong mental guys. ‘Cause if it starts going south on you in a 60-game season, you’ve got no time to make it up. In a normal year when you start off bad and it’s May, you say, ‘Hell, man, I’ll get it back.’ Well, now you’ve only got five starts left and the season’s over.‘’

Eckersley was the greatest closer of his generation. How would he have felt about coming into an extra- inning game and seeing a designated runner already standing on second base?

“Not good,” he said. “Now you’ve got to be able to punch somebody out. And you’ve got to think they’ll be bunting more there. But we need a strikeout now.

“This might be a little different brand of baseball. You can’t be trying to go bridge every inning.”

Given the roster flexibility, will there be more pitchers routinely used in nine-inning games?

“We already do that anyway,” he answered. “How many more are you going to use? Maybe stretch somebody more a little bit, I don’t know.

“But you don’t want to overdo it. They overused [Matt] Barnes for a month last year. Are you going to bring your closer in, or use him earlier? I don’t know how they’re going to do this. A closer for two innings? I don’t know.

“How good can they be with just a couple of weeks to get ready here? Everybody’s going to be a little bit off, aren’t they? Some of these guys might be ahead because they’ve been doing their thing. That would give them an edge. Watch out for hamstrings. Everybody’s going to feel ready — let’s play — and they’re really not ready.”

Does he think the young players will be able to stick to the safety protocols?

“Nobody wants to be the one that messes it up,” he said. “I don’t think they’ll let you. You can’t sneak out. I mean, where are you going? I don’t know.

“It’s going to be new, and you’ll do whatever you’re supposed to, but you wonder how long it takes and before it just becomes a lot looser. Like we all have been. I’m a lot looser than I was about some stuff two months ago. We all are. I’m not afraid to do some stuff that I used to be.

“It’s going to be interesting just because it’s weird.”

* The Boston Herald

10 notes from Red Sox Summer Camp: Nathan Eovaldi impressing early

Jason Mastrodonato

1. Red Sox pitcher Collin McHugh surprised manager Ron Roenicke in the Red Sox’ first official “summer camp” workout on Friday by participating with the healthy pitchers. McHugh, who was signed in March but not expected to be ready until late this season due to an offseason procedure on his right elbow, is not sure if he’ll be ready for Opening Day on July 23 but is optimistic.

2. McHugh was involved in the talks with the players and admitted he was frustrated to spend three months negotiating with owners on the basis of a season without fans in the stands, only for the teams to then announce they’re trying to get fans in the stands this year. “The economic ramifications of that we’re kind of the main driving factor in the middle of those negotiations,” he said. “So to hear they want to potentially put fans in the stands at some point this season, it does kind of fly in the face of the premises that we were negotiating on. To that point it was a little frustrating.”

3. Sophomore infielder Michael Chavis is becoming a social media star. After making the trip to Boston from Florida, Chavis shared a social media post of his new locker set-up. He’s suitemates with fellow sophomore Alex Verdugo and said he’s enjoying trying to connect with Red Sox fans. “One thing I’ve noticed from just this is to see how guys are going to use their creativity to either engage with the fans in a different way, or to show a different light or change their routines to make the day-to-day aspect either more familiar or just more consistent for this season. I’m interested to see and excited to see how guys’ creativity comes out through this weird time.”

4. Chavis, who worked out at second base on Friday, had been in Fort Myers during the pandemic and feels like his swing won’t be rusty at all. “I was able to work out in the complex until it got shut down a couple of times,” he said. “We even hit today and I feel really good about where my swing’s at and I feel good about what I did in preparation for this time. … I lost a little bit of weight not having the same access to the weight room. Just maintaining my physical shape by running and doing whatever I can, workouts in the house, pushups whenever I’m dying in Fortnite or something like that. Just fun things to stay in shape and stay engaged.”

5. The Red Sox seem committed to a five-man starting rotation, despite only having two above- average starters on the staff in Eduardo Rodriguez and Nathan Eovaldi, with Martin Perez in the third spot and competition in the fourth and fifth spots. “We still have open competition at the back of the rotation,” said pitching coach Dave Bush. “We still have extra spots, with a 30-man roster to start with, we have some flexibility if we want to carry some extra guys, go with a traditional starter in the fifth spot, those things are to be determined. They’re up for grabs right now.” Ryan Weber is the leader in the clubhouse for the No. 4 spot.

6. One player who is showing no signs of rust is Nathan Eovaldi. “Nate looks great,” Bush said. “I was in contact with him and everyone else throughout the layoff. He’s been throwing to a catcher on a weekly rotation for a little while now. He’s built up quite a bit of pitches. He feels strong, looks good. He came in a few days early this week so I’ve seen him throw twice already. He’ll be ready to face hitters very soon and slide into a five-day cycle. He’s always strong, always in shape.”

7. It’s uncertain whether or not Rodriguez, Eovaldi and Perez will be ready to go in time for Opening Day. “The 21 days certainly is going to be tough for the starting pitchers,” said manager Ron Roenicke. “It’s going to be tougher. I think the relievers, we’ll be able to get them ready in time and simply because they’ve been throwing bullpens at home, they’ve been throwing one inning, some of the guys, three, four times a week. I’m pretty confident that the pitching is going to be ready in the bullpen. Obviously the starting pitching is the concern.”

8. MLB’s best player, Mike Trout, made headlines Friday with his suggestion that he might not play the full 2020 season. His wife is pregnant. “Honestly, I still don’t feel that comfortable,” Trout told reporters. “It’s gonna be tough. I’ve got to be really cautious these next couple weeks. I don’t want to test positive. I don’t want to bring it back to my wife. It’s a tough situation we’re in.”

9. MLB canceled the 2020 All-Star Game, which was supposed to be held at Dodger Stadium later this month. The Dodgers were awarded the 2022 All-Star Game instead.

10. Dodgers owner Stan Kasten said it’s likely most teams will use artificial crowd noise for TV purposes this season. The Red Sox have not yet announced how they’ll handle that.

Positive coronavirus tests add uncertainty as Red Sox open ‘Summer Camp’ at Fenway Park

Jason Mastrodonato

The nostalgia of Fenway Park’s reopening wore off within minutes on Friday, when the Red Sox returned to work for Day 1 of “summer camp,” the second attempt at spring training.

Once you make it past the temperature screening and bag checks, work your way up five stories of ramps (elevator use is discouraged), walk past the press box and set up shop in the nosebleeds behind the third- base line, you look onto the field to see an unusual image.

There’s a makeshift bullpen set up in the center-field triangle, with catchers squatting in a line as the pitching machine fires bullets into the ground and rusty backstops do their best to stab at them.

Jason Varitek oversees the crew, wearing a blue face covering. Christian Vazquez is standing nearby, wearing an N95 mask and otherwise in full catchers gear. Most of the other players are without a mask, but some keep one on their neck or ready to use.

Down the left field line are a few pitchers, it looks like Brandon Workman and Matt Barnes, jogging back on the warning track.

There’s a batting cage set up behind home plate, but nobody using it at the moment.

And near the Red Sox dugout, general manager Brian O’Halloran was among a handful of front office executives spread out, mostly on their phones, casually watching the events on the field.

There wasn’t much to see. It was like Day 1 of spring training all over again, with pitchers later participating in fielding drills meant for the first week of February.

And yet, in three weeks, MLB is hoping those pitchers will be ready to compete in regular season games that count in the standings. Some owners are hoping there might be some fans in the stands for some of those games.

Later on Friday afternoon, a few things happened to make us remember how distant a possibility that may be.

Around noon, Red Sox manager Ron Roenicke walked into the interview room in Fenway Park where he found nothing but a podium and some TV monitors, with reporters’ faces on Zoom. Most of the reporters were stationed a few stories above in the press box or the outdoor press seating area.

Roenicke came out with an opening statement: the Red Sox had multiple positive tests for the coronavirus this week, but he doesn’t want to be asked much more about it.

“If somebody tests positive, as we go through this training camp, we’ll try to let you know,” the skipper said. “But I don’t want to talk about this every day because what’s going to happen is there’s some testing that they’re doing and they’ve got to run the tests back over again and we may have to hold a player out for a day. And if that happens, I don’t want to have you guys speculate on whether somebody has the virus or not.

“So how we want to do it is I’ll talk about the camp and what guys … we didn’t have everybody that came in. We do have some positive tests. With the COVID laws, with the laws or rules that MLB have placed on and the protocols, I won’t be able to give you names on these players.”

Projected Opening Day starter Eduardo Rodriguez was missing from the first day of workouts while the Sox were still awaiting his test results.

“Eduardo didn’t come in today,” Roenicke said. “The reason being is that he was at home, was around somebody that was sick. He wanted to just make sure that he was fine so we have tested him, we don’t have the results back yet and when we get those results, obviously you’ll know.

“Eddie was fine with me telling you guys that. I just don’t want to have to talk about this every day because it’s going to come up every day. We’re tested all the time. It will be a little cleaner if we just leave it this way to where if something does come up through camp, I’ll let you guys know.”

As the Red Sox continued their workouts, a few more notable events took place.

An email arrived just before 4 p.m. from the Red Sox public relations team.

“Our security staff alerted us that there were several instances today in which masks were not completely covering people’s mouths and noses,” the email read. “This is a requirement for everyone in the park that we all have to abide by.”

For reporters in the press box, photographers and TV camera operators around the park, masks are mandatory. Day 1 was a rough start.

An hour later, Major League Baseball announced the Red Sox weren’t the only team with coronavirus problems.

In the first round of league-wide testing this week, 38 of the 3,185 tests (1.2%) were positive. Of those 38, 31 were players and seven were staff members. Of the 30 MLB teams, 19 teams had positive tests.

Now the league must find a way to contain those test, isolate the individuals, wait for multiple negative tests before allowing them back into the facilities and hope it stops the spread.

Can this thing actually work over a 60-game season in 2020?

“I’m going to be honest with you, I don’t know,” said Red Sox pitcher Collin McHugh. “I hope so. I really, really hope so. I’m up here in Boston without my family for three months trying to play baseball, trying to put a game on for three hours a night for people to hopefully give them some rest, give them a break, give them some entertainment. But then go right back to the real world.

“Obviously our hope is that we can do this safely and we can pull it off, but we’ve seen in different areas in the country and different areas of the world that this virus can be unpredictable and if we aren’t extremely vigilant on our part it doesn’t take a lot for the walls to start closing in on.”

Gone are the days of the players going from the locker room to the dugout via the underground tunnel, then emerging from the darkness to run up the steps into the century-old ballpark.

Instead, you’ll see players carrying their bat bags over their shoulder, slowly making the trek down two stories of staircases in the stands as they head to the field from their new home in the luxury suites. The players like the suites, Michael Chavis said, and by keeping the suites limited to two players per room, it’s giving them additional space and comfort they wouldn’t have in the clubhouse, which is currently off limits to players.

The training room was moved upstairs to a more ventilated area. And the general concourse was transitioned into a weight room, providing more questions as to how the Sox will have fans in the stands when they’d need to open areas to the public that are currently being used by the players.

Most coaches wore masks, as did front office personnel. But that wasn’t stopping some players, including many who did not wear masks, from huddling in groups behind the batting cage or in the outfield grass before a drill.

“We’re still trying to get comfortable with the spacing and I know one time we probably had too many guys a little close together and we have to keep reminding them, and I’ve got to remind myself also when I go to talk to somebody,” Roenicke said. “I think the staff is trying to keep their mask on as best they can so if we happen to get a little close we have a mask on. The players just remind them and I think they’ll get used to it.”

Roenicke is trying to plan a workout schedule that doesn’t require too many guys on the field at once, and not a lot of standing around.

The practices look quite isolating that way. The park was mostly quiet all morning and early afternoon. The sun rarely peeked out from behind the Prudential Center.

Nobody knows if this will work. It sure is different.

Red Sox manager Ron Roenicke: ‘We do have some positive coronavirus tests’

Jason Mastrodonato

On Day 1 of the Red Sox first official “summer camp” workouts for the 2020 season, manager Ron Roenicke said the Sox have had some positive coronavirus tests.

Players were due to report Wednesday and Thursday for testing ahead of the first official first workout, though some players were held out of Friday’s workout while waiting for test results.

Generally, the Red Sox are intent on not naming the players and staff members who test positive throughout the season.

“We’ll try to let you know,” Roenicke said. “I don’t want to talk about this every day. There’s some testing, we might have to test again and we may hold a player out a day. If that happens, I don’t want to have speculation as to whether someone has the virus or not.”

But Roenicke was able to mention one name of a player who was noticeably absent from Day 1: Eduardo Rodriguez.

“He didn’t come in today,” Roenicke said. “He was at home and around someone who is sick. We have tested him and don’t have the results yet.”

Given the delay, the Sox are unsure if they’ll have their 19-game winner ready in time for Opening Day on July 23 or 24.

It’s going to be hard to get the starting pitchers ready, the manager said. The relievers, though, are in good shape and the bullpen should be fully stocked and ready to go.

More to come.

* The Providence Journal

Red Sox enjoyed some normalcy at Fenway Park on Friday

Bill Koch

BOSTON --- Red Sox pitchers and catchers began to arrive at least two hours before Friday’s scheduled 10 a.m. workout at Fenway Park.

Ryan Brasier, Marcus Walden, Matt Barnes and Brandon Workman were among those spotted taking a stroll down Jersey Street toward the player entrance. Coaches Tom Goodwin, Ramon Martinez and Carlos Febles followed shortly after.

Catchers were on the field first and went through a short workout presided over by strength and conditioning coach Kiyoshi Momose. They followed by adjourning to the batting cage to hit in two groups of three. Jett Bandy, Juan Centeno and Connor Wong were followed by Jonathan Lucroy, Kevin Plawecki and Christian Vazquez.

“I’ve been sitting in the house for three months,” infielder Michael Chavis said. “My last at-bat in a game was in spring training. All I’ve been thinking about is, ‘I wish I was playing baseball and not MLB The Show and Fortnite.’”

Pitchers played long toss and threw bullpens. Infielders and outfielders worked in afternoon groups, with Alex Verdugo making his Boston batting practice debut. Andrew Benintendi, Jackie Bradley Jr. and Kevin Pillar also worked with the outfield group.

“They were excited to be back at baseball again,” Red Sox manager Ron Roenicke said. “I know everybody has been through a lot. I think just being on the field today and finally getting back at it – they’ve been trying to stay in shape at home, which is a difficult thing to do.”

Roenicke said the club had multiple positive tests for coronavirus and was still waiting for nine players to either report or have their test results processed.

Red Sox players adjusting to suite life

Bill Koch

BOSTON --- Fenway Park’s seats remained empty Friday, and they figure to do so throughout the season.

There is a possibility some clubs will welcome fans later in this curtailed 2020 campaign. Red Sox president and CEO Sam Kennedy remained optimistic last week, citing the progress Massachusetts and surrounding states have made combating the coronavirus pandemic.

For now, some prime real estate on the premises has been turned over to the players. They’re out of the clubhouse – one of the smallest home setups in the game – and on the suite level. Two players have been assigned to each corporate box, complete with lockers, gear and a glass door that swings open to seats high above the playing field.

“I walked in and I just immediately backtracked and took the video of it,” Red Sox infielder Michael Chavis said. “My first glimpse of it – I didn’t really get to see it. The immediate view when I walked in the door, I was just so impressed with everything.”

Chavis is sharing a suite with newcomer Alex Verdugo, who was traded from the Dodgers to Boston in the offseason. There are several newcomers on the 40-man roster and among the player pool invited to Summer Camp. The Red Sox expected 48 players to arrive at some point this week and retain 12 open spots.

“Obviously we’ve got some new faces, some new guys in the clubhouse – I don’t even know if you can call it a clubhouse anymore,” Chavis said. “There are ways I think we’re going to be able to do some team- building or introduction while keeping the distance and staying as safe as possible.”

Boston manager Ron Roenicke described the buildup to Friday’s first workout as “the craziest time and the busiest time” since he joined the professional baseball ranks in 1977. Roenicke’s days have involved a steady stream of phone calls, text messages and Zoom conferences in an attempt to stay in touch with players and staff members.

“Hopefully we’ll never have to see anything like this again,” Roenicke said. “We get through this and we should be able to handle pretty much anything that comes up.”

McHugh lends perspective on talks between MLB owners, MLBPA

Bill Koch

BOSTON --- Collin McHugh was among those well versed in the new safety and security protocols adopted to combat the coronavirus pandemic.

McHugh is one of eight players who serve on the Major League Baseball Players Association executive subcommittee. The Red Sox right-hander was involved throughout contract negotiations with MLB owners, helping strike the March agreement and craft the manual distributed prior to Summer Camp.

“We’re happy to be back on the field in a safe way,” McHugh said. “That was our No. 1 priority the whole time.”

McHugh is scheduled to throw a bullpen session on Saturday as he continues to rehab a right elbow injury. He spent parts of the last six seasons with the Astros and signed a one-year deal with Boston in March. That was one week before spring training facilities were closed and players were sent home.

“Obviously we’re spread out across the country and across the world,” McHugh said. “Trying to speak with one voice is difficult enough at times when everybody is in one place. The logistics made it a little bit more difficult on MLB’s side and on the players side.”

MLB commissioner Rob Manfred ultimately imposed a 60-game schedule after players and owners couldn’t reach a second agreement on how and when to return to the field. McHugh said the MLBPA negotiated throughout the process assuming there would be no fans in ballparks this season.

“To hear that they want to potentially put fans in the stands at some point this season does kind of fly in the face of the premises that we were negotiating on,” McHugh said. “To that point, it is a little frustrating.

“If that was the mindset the whole time we probably could have gone down a different path. But it is what it is at this point.”

Red Sox begin Summer Camp with rotation in flux

Bill Koch

BOSTON --- Martin Perez and Ryan Weber were first on the bullpen mound Friday morning at Fenway Park.

Red Sox starters will be forced to ramp up quickly with less than three weeks to go until their new Opening Day of July 23 or July 24. Perez, a left-hander, figures to have one of the five rotation spots sewn up after being signed away from the Twins as a free agent this offseason. Weber, a right-hander, impressed at the first version of spring training in February and March.

Boston plans to remain on the same schedule employed by a five-man rotation, but they could utilize an opener or two to fill the back end. Solving that equation falls to chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom and pitching coach Dave Bush, who enters his first season.

“We still have openings at the back end of the rotation,” Bush said. “None of that has changed as of right now. We’re fairly confident the guys are ready for the workload at this point.”

Eduardo Rodriguez has yet to report this week after possibly being exposed to the coronavirus at his home. Rodriguez will not travel to join his teammates until he tests negative for the virus. Any extended absence for Rodriguez would leave Nate Eovaldi and Perez to front a rotation that could also include Weber, right- hander Collin McHugh, left-hander Brian Johnson and more.

“Hopefully starting tomorrow there are a couple guys who could face hitters,” Bush said. “It will pick up in intensity quite a bit by the beginning of next week. We’re starting right away, and they’ve known that for a while.”

Bush said starters could stretch out to as much as seven innings by the start of the season. Bloom and manager Ron Roenicke said starters were throwing bullpens of up to four innings prior to reporting this week.

* MassLive.com

Fenway Park changes: Boston Red Sox put batting cages in concourse, turn suites into locker rooms as summer camp begins

Chris Cotillo

Fenway Park got a bit of a makeover in advance of the Red Sox showing up for an unprecedented summer training camp this week. To accommodate all that will go into holding a three-week “second spring training” before Opening Day on July 23 and 24, the Red Sox made some wholesale changes to the ballpark.

Concourses turn into batting cages, weight room Because the Red Sox will host up to 60 players for camp, the club needed to add some auxiliary workout areas in unconventional places. With no fans currently slated to attend games this season, the Sox decided to turn Fenway’s right-field concourse into an expanded training and conditioning area that includes a new batting cage and pitcher’s mound, which is under the bleachers.

“Located in close proximity to the existing Red Sox Clubhouse, the auxiliary space includes artificial turf with equipment like bikes and weights lining the walls,” the Red Sox said. “A covered pitcher’s mound has also been installed in a portion of the Big Concourse located under the Bleachers. In addition to the significant expanded space afforded in the concourses, enhanced air circulation is also a benefit of the covered but not fully enclosed areas.”

For hitting, the Red Sox will utilize the Fenway field along with their usual indoor batting cages, the visitor’s batting cages and the new concourse in the cage. Pitchers will throw in the bullpens and off the new, temporary mounds.

Suites converted to two-man locker rooms With no fans coming to games this summer, the Red Sox found a way to utilize some of the ballpark’s most expensive spaces to promote social distancing.

The team won’t utilize the home clubhouse at all, instead having two players occupying each suite on Fenway’s Dell Technologies Club level. Those suites, which are in right field,

“To best adhere to the MLB guidelines promoting proper physical distancing, suites in Right Field have been converted to accommodate locker room space for two Red Sox players per suite,” the Red Sox said. “Spaces within the existing Red Sox clubhouse will be re-assigned and adjusted to provide players and staff with facilities that are in line with MLB’s health and safety guidelines.”

Infielder Michael Chavis, who is sharing a suite with outfielder Alex Verdugo, expressed his excitement for the suite setup. Manager Ron Roenicke said the plan is to have players utilize the suites for the entire duration of the season.

“Everybody’s using the suites player-wise. No players are in the clubhouse,” Roenicke said. “In the clubhouse, there’s a square-footage thing they put into place on how many people can be in a certain amount of square feet. So the coaches office, where we all were last year, there’s only two guys in there this year. And the training room has switched where it was. And now there’s four lockers in the training room all spread out.”

COVID-19 testing area Players and staff members went through their “intake screening” when they arrived at Fenway earlier this week and will continue to be tested every other day throughout camp and the regular season.

Red Sox pitcher Collin McHugh provided a glimpse of the testing area on his Instagram story Friday, along with some other photos of some of the Fenway changes.

Boston Red Sox’s Collin McHugh: Fans at games this year would ‘fly in the face’ of basis of negotiations between MLB, players

Chris Cotillo

For Red Sox right-hander Collin McHugh, the revelation that some of Major League Baseball’s owners want fans in the stands this summer isn’t sitting too well.

McHugh, who is an active member of the MLB Players Association, was involved in the tense negotiations between the league and the players’ union about getting the season started. The sticking point of those talks was revenue, with the owners claiming they couldn’t fully compensate players with prorated salaries because of the revenue lost from not having fans attend games.

Now, with MLB having unilaterally implemented a 60-game season after failing to come to an agreement with the players, multiple team owners have expressed hope about having fans attend games. McHugh believes the shift in tenor from the owners is a bit inauthentic.

“Many of the proposals were pushed across the table under the (assumption) that we weren’t going to have fans,” McHugh said. “The economic ramifications of that were the main driving factor in the middle of those negotiations. To hear that they want to potentially put fans in the stands at some point this season, it does kind of fly in the face of the premises we were negotiating on. To that point, it is a little frustrating. If that was the mindset the whole time, we probably could have gone down a different path.”

Major League Baseball decided to let teams make their own determinations on whether or not to have fans, as long as those clubs abide by local and state regulations. On a conference call last week, Red Sox president and CEO Sam Kennedy said he was “hopeful” that at least some fans could be let into Fenway Park this summer, though Mass. Gov. Charlie Baker threw cold water on that idea Thursday.

For McHugh, who took part in frequent conference calls with other union members during the league’s shutdown, said the logistics of negotiating electronically made for subpar conditions.

“I think everybody would have hoped we would have reached an agreement, but at the end of the day, both sides weren’t able to,” McHugh said. “Rob and the commissioner’s officer went ahead and implemented the same season they proposed in their last offer. We’re happy to get back out here and to get back out on the field in a safe way.”

With COVID-19 spreading in many states, there is significant concern that the league might not be able to get through the entire 60-game season. Asked if he thought the Red Sox would be able to play 60 games this year, McHugh admitted he wasn’t sure if it was possible but that he was hopeful the season could go off without a hitch.

“(We’re) trying to put a game on for three hours a night for people,” he said. “Trying to hopefully give them some rest, give them a break and give them some entertainment and then go right back to the real world. Obviously, our hope is that we can do this safely and we can pull it off, but we’ve seen in different areas of the country and different areas of the world, that this virus can be unpredictable. If we’re not extremely vigilant on our part, it doesn’t take a lot for the walls to start closing in on us.”

MLB coronavirus test results: 38 of 3,185 (1.2%) people test positive in first round of screening, with positive tests on 19 teams

Chris Cotillo

Only 1.2% of people tested by Major League Baseball this week were positive for COVID-19, the league announced Friday. According to a joint statement from MLB and the MLB Players Association, 38 of the 3,185 tests conducted this week came back positive.

All players and staff members reporting to camp underwent a mandatory “intake screening” process in which they were tested for COVID-19 earlier in the week. According to MLB, the 38 positive tests included 31 players and seven staff members. Nineteen different clubs had one more more individuals test positive.

Earlier Friday, Red Sox manager Ron Roenicke said the club has “some” positive tests but declined to get into further detail regarding how many players tested positive or the identities of the players.

“I can’t mention numbers,” Roenicke said. “MLB really doesn’t want us to go there. As we move on, I think you guys will probably see who’s not here. Then it’s a case of that player, if he’s okay with us mentioning who it is. That’s the way we’re going to have to do it.”

In addition to the Red Sox, the Phillies and Blue Jays are believed to have positive tests after each placing four players on the 10-day injured list for undisclosed reasons earlier in the week. Angels manager Joe Maddon told reporters that nine or 10 players were not available to work out Friday without providing an explanation, and the Rangers, Twins and Indians are among the teams who announced the names of specific players who had tested positive.

Roenicke is confident that once baseball digests its original testing numbers that the protocols put in place will keep players and staffers safe for the duration of the season.

“I think the protocols that they put into place with testing, with how we come into the ballpark every day, answer questions, take our temperature ... I’m feel pretty confident that we’re doing the best we can,” Roenicke said. “Doesn’t mean that things can’t go a little south. But I think we’re doing everything we can to keep these guys as safe as we can.”

MLB’s rate of positive tests came in well below the NBA’s positive rate. So far, the NBA had had 25 positive tests among 351 players (7.12%) and 10 additional positives among 884 staff members who were tested.

Michael Chavis shows off Boston Red Sox player suites; ‘The beautiful view of Fenway’ is cool

Christopher Smith

BOSTON — Red Sox players will use the suites around Fenway Park instead of the clubhouse.

Michael Chavis provided a video tour (see below) of his suite, which he’s sharing with Alex Verdugo.

The Red Sox are trying to spread their players out and social distance as much as possible as part of their safety measures to fight against coronavirus. The team began its first official summer training camp workout at Fenway Park on Friday.

“The immediate view when I first walked in the door, I was so impressed with everything,” Chavis said during a Zoom call. “We had an idea of what it would kind of look like. We got word of what they were doing. But then just seeing it in person and being in the room and everything like that, it was really cool. And then the beautiful view of Fenway. Everything about it. I missed baseball. I missed the Red Sox. I missed the team. I missed the staff. So just the opportunity to be back playing baseball and working with these guys and just having a conversation with somebody that hasn’t been in my house the last three months, it’s incredible.”

Manager Ron Roenicke said, “Everybody’s using the suites player-wise. No players are in the clubhouse. In the clubhouse, there’s a square-footage thing they put into place on how many people can be in a certain amount of square feet. So the coaches office, where we all were last year, there’s only two guys in there this year. And the training room has switched where it was. And now there’s four lockers in the training room all spread out.”

Boston Red Sox to have ‘open competition’ for backend of rotation, starters should be ready for 5-7 innings in 21 days

Christopher Smith

BOSTON — The Boston Red Sox may or may not use an opener for the fifth spot in the starting rotation.

Summer training camp began at Fenway Park on Friday.

“We still have an open competition for the end of the rotation,” pitching coach Dave Bush said Friday. “And with a couple extra spots on the roster — we have a 30-man roster to start with — we have some flexibility with the rest of the staff, whether we carry some extra long guys or whether we go with a traditional starter in the fifth spot. I think those things are to be determined and they’re up for grabs right now.”

Eduardo Rodriguez, Nathan Eovaldi and Martin Perez obviously are locks for the rotation. Collin McHugh and Ryan Weber are candidates.

McHugh — who underwent a offseason non-surgical procedure for a flexor strain — is unsure whether he’ll be ready for the start of the season. He’s also not yet sure whether the Red Sox will use him as a starter or reliever.

The Red Sox’ other backend starting rotation and opener options include Brian Johnson, Chris Mazza, Matt Hall, Jeffrey Springs, Kyle Hart, Mike Shawaryn and Darwinzon Hernandez. The Red Sox view Hernandez as a reliever this year, but he remains an option to start if needed.

Spring training 2.0 will last only three weeks without many exhibition games, if any at all. And so it’s unclear how deep into games starters will pitch right away.

But Bush said starting pitchers should be built up enough to pitch five to seven innings their first time through the rotation.

“If we can get ramped up the way that I hope to they (the starters) should be pretty close to normal,” Bush said. “I don’t think anybody’s going to be throwing a complete game the first time out. But I hope to get them to the same place they would have been at the end of the original spring training, which would be ready for five, six, seven innings possibly. At this point, I’m not anticipating a pitcher innings limit, unless they’re are complications over the next couple of weeks. If the next few weeks go smoothly, then I think the guys would be ready to pitch like they normally would as starters.”

Eovaldi worked out at Fenway Park a couple times earlier this week before Friday. And so Bush has seen the righty throw twice already.

Bush hopes a couple pitchers will be able to throw live batting practice to hitters Saturday.

“For the starting pitchers, it’s going to be tougher,” Red Sox manager Ron Roenicke said. “I think the relievers, I think we’ll be able to get them ready in time simply because they’ve been throwing bullpens at home. They’ve been throwing one inning. Some of the guys (have been throwing) three, four times a week. So I’m pretty confident the pitching is going to be ready in the bullpen. Obviously the starting pitching is a concern. And I was really confident with Eduardo and where Nate was. I know how much they were throwing. Our team was throwing quite a bit.”

Eduardo Rodriguez held out of Boston Red Sox camp due to possible coronavirus exposure: ‘We don’t have the results back yet’

Chris Cotillo

Red Sox left-hander Eduardo Rodriguez did not report to Boston for summer camp this week after potentially being exposed to COVID-19 at home in Florida, manager Ron Roenicke said Friday.

Rodriguez, who lives in Miami, was tested for the coronavirus. The Red Sox are awaiting the results, according to Roenicke.

“Eduardo didn’t come in today, and the reason being is that he was at home and was around somebody that was sick,” Roenicke said. “He wanted to just make sure he was fine. We have tested him. We don’t have the results back yet. When we get those results, obviously, you’ll know.”

Red Sox players and coaches reported to Boston for summer training camp this week and underwent a battery of COVID-19 tests before the club’s first workout at Fenway Park on Friday. Roenicke said the club has “some” positive tests but declined to get into further detail regarding how many players tested positive or who they were.

“I can’t mention numbers,” Roenicke said. “MLB really doesn’t want us to go there. As we move on, I think you guys will probably see who’s not here. Then it’s a case of that player, if he’s okay with us mentioning who it is. That’s the way we’re going to have to do it.”

Rodriguez was noticeably missing from Friday’s workout, with most of the club’s other major-league pitchers being spotted working out on the field. Roenicke is hopeful that the left-hander can join the Red Sox in the coming days.

“He’s at home,” Roenicke said. “We’re waiting to get the results on him to see when we can bring him up.”

Around baseball, multiple teams have dealt with positive tests as camps begin. The Phillies and Blue Jays each placed four players on the 10-day injured list for undisclosed reasons and Angels manager Joe Maddon told reporters that nine or 10 players were not available to work out Friday without providing an explanation.

Boston Red Sox have ‘some positive tests’ for coronavirus; Eduardo Rodriguez still waiting for results

Christopher Smith

BOSTON — Manager Ron Roenicke said the Boston Red Sox had some positive tests for coronavirus, but he would not name which players.

“We do have some positive tests,” Roenicke said during a Zoom call Friday.

He would not say the exact number of positive tests.

Most players underwent COVID-19 testing Wednesday. The team opened summer training camp at Fenway Park on Friday morning.

MLB has resumed the 2020 season after the coronavirus pandemic suspended play March 12.

“I think the protocols that they put into place with testing, with how we come into the ballpark every day, answer questions, take our temperature ... I’m feel pretty confident that we’re doing the best we can,” Roenicke said. “Doesn’t mean that things can’t go a little south. But I think we’re doing everything we can to keep these guys as safe as we can.”

Catchers and pitchers already worked out.

Starting pitcher Eduardo Rodriguez was not here. He’s back at home in Florida. He has yet to fly into Boston because someone he was around was sick. So he’s waiting for his test results before he flies to Boston.

“This is the craziest time and the busiest time I’ve ever had in baseball,” Roenicke said.

60 player-pool so far (at 48 players):

40-man roster pitchers (21): Nathan Eovaldi, Chris Mazza, Austin Brice, Matt Barnes, Heath Hembree, Brandon Workman, Collin McHugh, Colten Brewer, Martín Pérez, Matt Hall, Eduardo Rodriguez, Jeffrey Springs, Darwinzon Hernandez, Ryan Weber, Ryan Brasier, Josh Taylor, Marcus Walden, Kyle Hart, Josh Osich, Phillips Valdez, Mike Shawaryn.

Non 40-man roster pitchers (3): Brian Johnson, Robinson Leyer, Domingo Tapia.

40-man roster catchers (2): Christian Vázquez, Kevin Plawecki

Non 40-man roster catchers (4): Connor Wong. Jett Bandy, Juan Centeno, Jonathan Lucroy

40-man roster infielders (9): Xander Bogaerts, José Peraza, Rafael Devers, Mitch Moreland, Michael Chavis, Tzu-Wei Lin, Jonathan Araúz, C.J. Chatham, Bobby Dalbec.

Non 40-man roster infielders (2): Marco Hernandez, Yairo Muñoz

40-man roster outfielders (5): Andrew Benintendi, Jackie Bradley Jr., Kevin Pillar, Alex Verdugo, J.D. Martinez.

Non 40-man roster outfielders (2): John Andreoli, César Puello.

* RedSox.com

Oldest ballpark gets social-distancing makeover

Ian Browne

BOSTON -- As the Red Sox returned to work for Friday’s start of Summer Camp, they did so with Fenway Park, the oldest ballpark in baseball, reconfigured in many creative ways to create a safe and socially distanced space for all players and staff.

Most notable: Instead of using the clubhouse, lockers were moved up to suites, with two players designated to each suite.

The Red Sox, given the space confinements of their facility, probably had the biggest challenge of all 30 teams to create a safe camp. Early indications are that team officials have risen to that challenge.

“The guys like the suites we have them in so far. They say it’s pretty cool up there, so I think that has worked well and we’ll see how everything goes,” said manager Ron Roenicke. “At the end of the day, I’ll know a lot better on what issues were and we’ll try to fix it.”

Like everything regarding the COVID-19 pandemic, each day can present new challenges. But Day 1 of the three-week Summer Camp seemed to run as smoothly as possible.

The right-field concourse, typically used for concession stands and a walkway for fans, was transformed into an expanded training and conditioning area that includes a new open-air batting cage.

There is also an auxiliary space that includes artificial turf with bikes and weights. A covered pitcher’s mound was installed in the Big Concourse under the bleachers, creating more space for pitchers to get their work in.

The trainer’s room has been moved upstairs as well.

“More ventilation there,” Roenicke said. “They can spread out. It sounds like, from the medical people, that the more fresh air you can get into places -- the more circulation -- the better you are. So that’s why we did that.”

Players worked out in small groups spaced out over about six hours.

“I have to say the Red Sox are doing a tremendous job of keeping social distance, of keeping everything extremely clean, going out of their way to make sure players are separated when they don’t have to be around each other,” said Red Sox righty Collin McHugh. “Staff is separated when they don’t have to be around us. Hopefully we are mitigating as much risk as possible.

“It’s never going to be a risk-free environment, we know that. That’s the environment we know we’re coming back to play in. So there are risks every day coming to the park. There are risks for the general population going out and getting groceries, and everybody has to make sure they are playing their part in being as safe as possible to protect everybody in the middle of this pandemic.”

Roenicke will do whatever he can as he supervises the daily workouts leading up to Opening Day on July 23 or 24.

“Still trying to get comfortable with the spacing, and I know one time we probably had too many guys a little close together, and we have to keep reminding them and I’ve got to remind myself also when I go to talk to somebody,” Roenicke said. “I think the staff is trying to keep their mask on as best they can, so if we happen to get a little close, we have a mask on.

“The players, you just remind them, and I think they’ll get used to it. But as far as the workouts have gone, so far it’s good.”

The pitchers and catchers worked out in the morning, followed later in the day by position players.

“We were trying to figure out things and how we go about and try to keep a pace and a rhythm so we’re not having people stand around," Roenicke said. "When we put together the schedule, that was kind of the main objective -- not to have guys standing around and hanging out.”

As socially distanced a day as it was, it was a big deal for baseball to be back at Fenway Park.

“It’s cool to be back at Fenway,” McHugh said. “It’s different to be at this version of Fenway, different from how it has been in the past. It’s great to see the teammates, see the staff, kind of get our feet wet again.”

Notes: E-Rod delayed; McHugh on health, role

Ian Browne

BOSTON -- With just three weeks to go until Opening Day, it was eyeopening that lefty Eduardo Rodriguez was not cleared to participate in Friday’s opening workout of Summer Camp at Fenway Park.

Instead, Rodriguez remained at his home in Florida as he awaits results of a recent COVID-19 test.

“The reason being is that he was at home and was around somebody that was sick,” Red Sox manager Ron Roenicke said. “He wanted to just make sure that he was fine so we have tested him. We don’t have the results back yet, and when we get those results, obviously you’ll know.”

All Red Sox players who arrived in Boston this week took COVID-19 tests. Some of those results came back positive, Roenicke confirmed, but he didn’t get into specifics.

“Everyone knows this is contagious, and we're taking all of the precautions we can to contain it, and if someone does have it, to keep it from spreading to other people,” said Red Sox infielder Michael Chavis. “We're doing everything we can to prevent it from happening and I know personally I can to do everything I can to make sure I don't come in contact with it, that I wash my hands, that I'm wearing my mask. I'm not super concerned, just because I know we're taking every precaution.”

As for Rodriguez, starting pitchers can’t afford to miss much time -- if any -- at Summer Camp to be ready for Opening Day.

During the initial version of Spring Training, Rodriguez had been lining up to pitch Opening Day.

“Obviously the starting pitching is the concern [in an abbreviated camp],” said Roenicke. “I was really confident with where Eduardo and Nate [Eovaldi] was. I know how much they were throwing. So any time something is set back a little bit, OK, we need to look at it and talk about it. Eduardo is still planning to throw some at home before he comes up and we’re just waiting on results about his testing. But, yes, the starting pitching is a concern and we know that the setbacks for the starters will make a difference on whether they’re ready Opening Day.”

If Rodriguez isn’t ready for the opener, Eovaldi would be all but sure to get the nod.

McHugh encouraged about health When Spring Training was halted, newly acquired righty Collin McHugh was in the early stages of coming back from a right flexor tendon injury suffered last season. More than three months later, his health has greatly improved.

“I’m feeling pretty good. I have been taking this time during quarantine, I was back in Atlanta at my home doing all my rehab, doing all my throwing,” McHugh said. “Kind of trying to work my way back to 100 percent. I think we have made a lot of progress toward that now that we’re back at full camp. We can get trainers’ hands on me, throw to catchers and all that kind of stuff.”

McHugh said it’s too early to gauge whether he’ll be ready for the start of the season. But he is hoping so.

“It’s going to be like drinking from a fire hose for three weeks in this Spring Training for everybody around baseball. I’m looking forward to it,” McHugh said.

The swingman isn’t concerned whether he is deployed as a starter or reliever.

“My No. 1 goal is get healthy first, get to the point where I’m able to throw to hitters in a big league situation, and we’ll stick me in in whatever situation the team needs and run from there,” McHugh said.

Chavis dialed in Don’t tell Chavis that it is going to be hard to get the juices flowing again now that baseball is back.

“I can only speak for myself,” Chavis said. “I don’t think it's going to be very hard. I've been sitting in the house for three months. My last at-bat in a game was Spring Training and all I've been thinking about is I wish I was playing baseball instead of MLB The Show and Fortnite. I'm excited to play today. I love playing baseball. It's my favorite thing to do. I personally won't have an issue getting excited or turning up for a game. I'm just looking forward to being on the field and being here.”

Roenicke managing nonstop Though workouts didn’t start until Friday, Roenicke has never felt busier in the days leading up to Summer Camp.

“This is the craziest time and the busiest time I’ve ever had in baseball,” said Roenicke. “I’ve never made so many phone calls. I’ve never made so many text messages in a day every single day. It’s been really crazy.”

Nine more on Saturday The Red Sox had nine players from Latin American countries arrive a day later than the others, and that’s why they weren’t cleared to participate in Friday’s workout.

Pending the results of their COVID-19 tests, those players should be able to work out on Saturday. The Red Sox were able to use Fenway Park for all workouts on Friday due to the lower number of players. Starting on Saturday, Boston College will also be used.

Roenicke hopes the Red Sox will start playing intrasquad games in five or so days.

Five-day plan With 60 games in 66 days, teams might get creative in how they deploy their starting rotations. At this point, Red Sox pitching coach Dave Bush anticipates his starters going on a five-day plan, though the fifth spot could go to an opener.

“For right now we’re sticking with a five-day plan. We have not had full internal discussions about that,” said Bush. “It’s going to be based on personnel. But at this point but I’m still stretching guys out and having them pitch on a five-day schedule to get ready for the season. As the season goes along, depending how the schedule looks, we could make changes if we have to. But my intention at this point is a more traditional five-man rotation.”

Bush is pleased with the way his pitchers stayed in shape during the layoff.

“If we can get ramped up the way I hope, they should be pretty close to normal. I don’t think anyone is going to be throwing a complete game the first time out, but I hope to get them the same length we hoped for at the original Spring Training, which is five, six, seven innings if possible,” Bush said. “At this point I’m not anticipating an innings limit unless there are complications over the next few weeks. If the next few weeks go smoothly, then I think guys will be ready to pitch like they normally would as starters.”

* ESPN.com

Red Sox, Astros adapt stadiums for camps and start of season

Joon Lee

One of America's oldest stadiums is adapting to the coronavirus. In recent days, the Boston Red Sox converted several areas of Fenway Park to support a safe opening of summer camp and allow for social distancing among the players as Major League Baseball continues to ramp up to attempting a start to the 2020 season.

Among the changes is the conversion of Fenway's luxury suites into locker room space, with each room accommodating two players. Due to the ballpark's opening in 1912, Fenway Park's locker rooms remain among the smallest in all of professional sports, an environment that would be physically impossible for athletes to safely social distance.

Additionally, the team converted the right-field concourse, an area that's typically filled with fans waiting for concessions, into an expanded gym and training area, including the installation of an open-air batting cage, turf on top of the existing concrete floor and a pitching mound under the bleachers.

"In addition to the significant expanded space afforded in the concourses, enhanced air circulation is also a benefit of the covered but not fully enclosed areas," according to a Red Sox news release.

The Red Sox also will be using Boston College's Harrington Athletic Village and McCoy Stadium in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, home of their Triple-A affiliate, as alternate training sites.

Boston isn't the only team converting space typically reserved for fans into a usable workout facility. The Houston Astros are currently converting Minute Maid Park into a summer camp facility as well.

"I'm using every inch of Minute Maid," Astros bench coach Joe Espada told the Houston Chronicle. "The storm is definitely not over. Now it's time to make a schedule where you can space guys out, maximize the space we have, be efficient with the time we spend on the field, so that creates a lot of challenges. But I think we're in a good spot."

* WEEI.com

Collin McHugh: 'I think we can do this and pull this off'

Rob Bradford

If there was any one player at Fenway Park Friday who represented the "one day at a time" mantra it was Collin McHugh.

Will McHugh's elbow be good enough to pitch when the regular season kicks off in three weeks? One day at a time.

"I think we’ll have a better idea as we move forward in this spring training or second spring training or summer training. What are we calling it? Summer Camp. We’ll have a better idea when we get into it. That’s my hope," he said after the Red Sox' first workout of their second spring training. "It remains to be seen."

And then there is the matter of everyone involved getting through the coronavirus-induced 60-game regular season.

Like the other members of the Red Sox, McHugh was privy to the new protocols in and around Fenway. No clubhouse access. Showers in the concourses. Two players at a time using the suites for a dressing room. And masks everywhere.

It was different, to be sure. But will it be good enough? McHugh's take ... You guessed it, one day at a time.

"I’m going to be honest with you, I don’t know. I hope so," he said when asked about his optimism regarding getting through the season. "I really, really hope so. I’m up here in Boston without my family for three months trying to play baseball, trying to put a game on for three hours a night for people to hopefully give them some rest, give them a break, give them some entertainment. But then go right back to the real world. Obviously our hope is that we can do this safely and we can pull it off, but we’ve seen in different areas in the country and different areas of the world that this virus can be unpredictable and if we aren’t extremely vigilant on our part it doesn’t take a lot for the walls to start closing in on. I think for players, we understand that and we understand both our safety, our health and all the health and safety of the people around us give us a chance to play this game. It rides on that fact, that we are extremely, extremely careful and vigilant about following these protocols. I think if we can do that as players and staff and organizations across the league can commit to doing that I think we can do this and pull this off.

"Like I said, I think it could be a huge help to give a break, to give a mental break to people across the country and across the world. Its’ been a struggle this year. it’s been a real, real struggle."

McHugh and the Red Sox were already hit with a dose of the new reality with multiple players testing positive for COVID-19, according to manager Ron Roenicke. As the pitcher pointed out, such setbacks are going to happen. Going through the steps to limit such issues will be the key.

"If we know anything about this virus at this point it’s that it’s not playing favorites, whether we’re healthy baseball players, professional athletes, some of us our high risk," McHugh said. "We have high-risk staff. We have to be extremely vigilant that we are following these health and safety protocols that we have been working toward for three months to put in play. I think some positives were going to be expected. Guys were coming from different parts of the country, different parts of the world and to think that everybody would come back 100 percent healthy, that was the hope, but obviously it’s not going to happen. We’ve seen it with other sports, when they have come back they have had some positives too. It becomes a necessity for us as players, a necessity for the organization as a whole, to be able to see them, minimize them through the contact tracing, making sure everything is as safe as possible for the guys who are at the field every day. For me, I feel today is Day 1 I’ve been at the park and seen what the protocols look like in practice.

"I have to say the Red Sox are doing a tremendous job of keeping social distance, of keeping everything extremely clean, going out of their way to make sure players are separated when they don’t have to be around each other. Staff separated when they don’t have to be around us. Hopefully mitigating as much risk as possible. It’s never going to be a risk-free environment, we know that. That’s the environment we know we’re coming back to play in. So there are risks, every day coming to the park. There are risks for the general population going out and getting groceries and everybody has to make sure they are playing their part in being as safe as possible to protect everybody in the middle of this pandemic."

And then McHugh added the perfect synopsis ...

"It’s going to be like drinking from a firehose for three weeks in this spring training for everybody around baseball," McHugh said. "I’m looking forward to it."

Red Sox confirm they do have positive COVID-19 tests; Eduardo Rodriguez awaiting his results

Rob Bradford

The first day brought the first hurdles for the Red Sox.

With the Red Sox going through their first official workouts during "summer camp" leading into the planned 60-game regular season, manager Ron Roenicke confirmed that the team has experienced "some" positive COVID-19 tests. Roenicke did not reveal which players they were.

Eduardo Rodriguez was not in attendance for the first day of workouts with Roenicke revealing (with the pitcher's permission) that he had been around a sick relative and was awaiting results from his own test.

All players who do test positive during the season are to be placed on the COVID-19 related injured list. To be removed from the list the player would need to receive two negative tests at least 24 hours apart and can't have a fever for at least 72 hours. The player must have also taken an antibody test.

The team is not using the clubhouse with the trainers' room also being moved upstairs in Fenway Park. Players have been assigned suites to use as dressing rooms.

* NBC Sports Boston

Red Sox LHP Eduardo Rodriguez possibly exposed to coronavirus, awaiting test results

John Tomase

Day 1 of Red Sox spring (summer?) training, and the team already has some positive COVID-19 cases. Left-hander Eduardo Rodriguez isn't one of them. At least not yet.

Manager Ron Roenicke told reporters in a Zoom call on Friday that he doesn't plan on naming those who test positive unless a player gives him the OK, but he did want to touch on Rodriguez.

The 19-game winner is not yet with the team. He has instead stayed behind in Miami, awaiting the results of his own test because, "he was around somebody that was sick," Roenicke said.

"He wanted to just make sure that he was fine so we have tested him, we don't have the results back yet and when we get those results, obviously you'll know," Roenicke said. "Eddie was fine with me telling you guys that. I just don't want to have to talk about this every day because it's going to come up every day."

Roenicke offered no further information on which players had tested positive or even how many — "MLB doesn't want us to go there," he said — but he said that he would try to keep the media apprised of any developments to avoid constant speculation over whether absent players have tested positive. He noted that some players will be held out of workouts pending rest results, even though they may be healthy.

He also said that no Red Sox players have opted out of the season.

"I think for just playing everybody so far has said they're going to play and is planning to come to camp," he said. "If they're not here, it's because of testing or they're not feeling well, but everybody in our club is planning on participating this year."

As for Rodriguez, he's coming off the best season of his career, a 19-6, 3.81 campaign that saw him finish sixth in the AL Cy Young voting. With David Price traded, Chris Sale out of the season, and Rick Porcello gone in free agency, Rodriguez is now the unquestioned ace of the staff.

As MLB teams report, let's count the ways the Red Sox will be worse in 2020

John Tomase

It is time for a Red Sox reality check. They were never, ever meant to contend in 2020.

This 60-game sprint will probably keep them from plummeting completely out of the playoff race, but let's not kid ourselves. They'll be in the wild card hunt in much the same way a 6-8 NFL squad technically maintains postseason aspirations come late December — by relying on mathematical gymnastics rooted more in hope ("If the Bengals and Bills play to a scoreless tie …") than substance.

They're worse than they were last year, and they weren't very good last year. With Spring Training 2.0 set to open on Friday, let us recount how much has changed since 2019 ended with a disappointing 84 wins and the Sox 12 games out of the playoff race.

Before the season even concluded, the Red Sox fired Dave Dombrowski, architect of 2018's World Series juggernaut, whom they had hired in 2015 to put them over the top. They didn't view him as a builder, however, tabbing Chaim Bloom from the Rays to oversee what could be a lengthy rebuild.

Needless to say, a team that wants to win now does not fire Dombrowski and replace him with Bloom. That only happens when prioritizing the long view.

Bloom's first order of business, even if it took the entire winter to accomplish, was trading MVP Mookie Betts and former Cy Young Award winner David Price to the Dodgers. This provided much-needed salary relief. It did not make the Red Sox better, a fact Bloom acknowledged the night he announced the deal.

"I certainly think it's reasonable to expect that we're going to be worse without them," he said, "but we have real good talent coming back."

Right fielder Alex Verdugo, the centerpiece of the trade, may not be Betts, but he's a lot better than people think. He's also coming off a cracked bone in his back that sidelined him for the last two months of 2019 and would've delayed the start to this season if COVID-19 hadn't shut it down first. The Red Sox need him to be a star, and that's asking a lot.

Offense is supposed to be a strength, but it could be a problem.

In Rafael Devers, Xander Bogaerts, and J.D. Martinez, the Red Sox possess an impressive heart of the order. Perhaps Verdugo and the perpetually underachieving Andrew Benintendi can expand the attack. If they can't, the Red Sox could end up being no better than average offensively at catcher (Christian Vazquez), first base (Mitch Moreland), second base (Jose Peraza), and the entire outfield (Benintendi, Jackie Bradley Jr., Verdugo).

In an age when even teams like the Twins can suddenly mash 300 home runs, that doesn't sound like nearly enough offense to compensate for a pitching staff that has been absolutely decimated.

It's worth repeating exactly what the Red Sox lost this winter. In dealing Price, dismissing Rick Porcello, and disabling Chris Sale, they watched over 400 innings vanish. Because John Henry locked his checkbook below deck on the Iroquois, they replaced that trio with Martin Perez and, if he's healthy, Collin McHugh.

They're banking on left-hander Eduardo Rodriguez to repeat his breakout 19-win campaign, even though inconsistency has been a hallmark of his career, and they need forever-injured right-hander Nathan Eovaldi to give them a lot more than the 5.99 ERA he provided in just 67.2 innings last year.

After that? Hold your nose.

Perez posted an ERA over 5.00 and soft-tossing Ryan Weber, a favorite of manager Ron Roenicke, is expected to claim the fourth spot despite barely cracking 89 mph. The Red Sox hope McHugh recovers from a non-surgical offseason procedure on his elbow, but he's still ramping back up as he throws off a mound, and his spot in the rotation is more likely to be manned, at least initially, by an opener.

Overseeing all of this considerable change is Roenicke, who emerged from Alex Cora's scandal-fueled departure to oversee what amounts to an interim two-month season. Cora's leadership was indispensable to the 2018 title run, and there's no guarantee the 63-year-old Roenicke will be able to push the right buttons in a truncated campaign. Though the Red Sox have technically struck the interim from his title, it wouldn't shock anyone if they're in the market for a longer-term solution come fall.

So to recap: the new baseball chief is here to rebuild but can't spend any money, the offense looks top- heavy, the starting rotation is made of paper clips and gum, and the new manager might only be on the job for nine weeks.

Does that sound like a contender to you? Me, neither.

* BostonSportsJournal.com

Red Sox Notebook: First few days of testing reveals ‘some positives tests’

Sean McAdam

Like a lot of other teams, it didn’t take long for the Red Sox to discover they had some players test positive for COVID-19.

“We do have some positive tests,” said manager Ron Roenicke. “With the COVID laws and the rules that MLB has placed on the protocols, I won’t be able to give you names.”

Roenicke did clarify later that these positive tests are in addition to the player testing positive last month while at home.

He also added that pitcher Eduardo Rodriguez, projected as the team’s Opening Day starter, was recently exposed to someone in South Florida who was sick with the virus. Rodriguez has been tested and is awaiting the results of the test. He won’t travel to Boston until he gets more clarity.

Collin McHugh, who served as the Players Association executive committee, wasn’t surprised the Sox recorded some positives at the outset.

“I think some positives were going to be expected,” said McHugh. “Guys were coming from different areas of the country, different parts of the world. To think that everyone would come back 100 percent healthy — that was the hope. But obviously, it’s not going to happen. It becomes a necessity for us as players and the organization as a whole to see them, minimize them, do the contact tracing and make sure that everything is as safe as possible for the guys that are at the field every day.” ______

Despite the fact that this camp will be less than half as long as a standard spring training, pitching coach Dave Bush expects his starting pitchers will be nearly at full strength from an endurance standpoint for the start of the season on July 23.

“If we can get ramped up the way I hope to, they should be pretty close to normal,” said Bush. “I don’t think anybody’s going to be throwing a complete game the first time out. But I hope to get them to the same point they would have been at the end of the original spring training, which would be to be ready for five, six, seven innings, possibly. At this point, I’m not anticipating an innings limit unless there are complications over the next couple of weeks.

“If the weeks go smoothly, I think the guys will be ready to pitch as they normally would as starters.”

During the layoff, Bush had reminded his pitchers to be prepared to face hitters almost immediately, and as promised, some will begin throwing live batting practice this weekend.

“We’ve expected this three-week spring training for quite a while,” said Bush. “So we basically backdated from Opening Day and said, ‘OK, how many appearances do you need? How many innings do you need to be ready for Opening Day?’ And that takes us back to where we are right now.” ______

McHugh, who underwent elbow surgery last winter, is progressing nicely, but isn’t completely sure that he’ll be 100 percent for the start of the season.

“I think we’ll have a better idea as we move forward,” said McHugh. “That’s my hope (to be ready for the season), but that remains to be seen.”

Nor, for that matter, is McHugh certain whether he’s going to be utilized as a starter or out of the bullpen. He’s done both before with success in the big leagues.

“It’s still a little too early to say,” said McHugh. “I think we’ve got some guys who can fill a lot of roles. We’ve got some starters and relievers and long relievers who will, in a short season like this, need to mix- and-match. Me and Chaim (Bloom) haven’t talked exclusively about what role I’ll be filling. My goal is to get healthy first, get to where I’m able to throw to hitters and we’ll stick me in whatever situation the team needs.”

* The Athletic

This is baseball now: How the Red Sox transformed Fenway Park to fit the virus

Jen McCaffrey

The Red Sox last played a game at Fenway Park 277 days ago. The last time they were together as a team was 106 days ago, just before MLB shut down spring training camps with COVID-19 on the rise.

Friday marked the beginning of a new unfamiliar reality for baseball and the Red Sox.

Nearly everything felt different at the 108-year-old park, one that’s seen its fair share of change over the years. But nothing quite like this.

Liability waivers signed. Masks required. No-touch temperature screenings. No use of the elevators. Auxiliary bullpens and batting cages built on the concourse in front of shuttered concession stands. No in-person interviews. No media access to the field or the clubhouse. In fact, none of the players were even in the clubhouse (and not because they were seeking to avoid reporters).

When baseball finally decided to attempt a comeback this season, it came with a social distancing caveat. Detailed measures were laid out in a 110-page operations manual MLB and the Players Association agreed upon in late June. It required teams to enforce several new protocols to limit outbreaks of the virus with players and coaches reuniting from, in some cases, all over the world.

At Fenway, rather than 25 or more players congregating at their lockers in the cramped home clubhouse, players have been assigned in pairs to suites typically used for corporate ticket sales. The suites range in price from $6,000 to $14,000 per game, but with no fans in the stands now, those suites will serve as the players’ glorified locker rooms.

Infielder Michael Chavis marveled at the updated player digs.

“I walked in and I just immediately backtracked and took (a) video,” Chavis said. “The immediate view when I first walked in the door, I was so impressed with everything. We had an idea of what it would look like when we got word of what they were doing, but then just seeing it in person and being in the room, it was really cool. Just the beautiful view of Fenway, everything about it. I miss baseball. I miss the Red Sox. I miss the team. I miss the staff. Just the opportunity to be back playing baseball and working with these guys and having a conversation with somebody who hasn’t been in my house for the last three months is incredible.”

Newcomer Collin McHugh offered a tour of his day via his Instagram page and all the changes Fenway had undergone.

“It’s cool to be back at Fenway,” he said. “It’s different to be at this version of Fenway, different from how it has been in the past. It’s great to see the teammates, see the staff, kind of get our feet wet again. I was only in camp for two or 2 1/2 weeks before we had to shut it all down so I’m still kind of learning everybody and they are learning me. It’s going to be like drinking from a fire hose for three weeks in this spring training for everybody around baseball.”

According to MLB, of 3,185 COVID-19 tests the league issued over the past few days there have been 38 positive tests among players and coaches. The Red Sox confirmed they do have a few positive cases, but would not release the players’ names. Manager Ron Roenicke noted that Eduardo Rodriguez has not reported to camp yet because someone he’s been in contact with has tested positive. Rodriguez’s own COVID test results have not yet come back.

“This is the craziest time and the busiest time I’ve ever had in baseball,” Roenicke said. “I’ve never made so many phone calls. I’ve never made so many text messages in a day every single day. It’s been really crazy.”

But even with several healthy players already in camp, space is key and that’s something there’s not much of at Fenway. Boston College will serve as an extra site for workouts over the next few weeks. Pitchers who are throwing live batting practice or bullpens or hitters partaking in batting practice will remain at Fenway, while players working on conditioning drills will report to BC.

On Friday, the players arrived in waves. Pitchers in the morning and position players in the afternoon. They worked out in groups spread out across the field with some throwing bullpens in the traditional location in front of the bleachers with others getting their work in under the stadium on the concourse mounds. Groups of three or four players at a time took batting practice on the field at Fenway.

There were meetings in the stands as coaches and players sat a few seats apart from each other. Chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom gathered with some front office members in front of the Red Sox dugout to watch. It probably wasn’t quite what he envisioned for the first time seeing his team at the park.

Earlier in the week, players were not only tested for the virus but had physicals with team doctors and met with the training staff to gauge their conditioning after the three-month work-out-from-home stretch.

Despite the strangeness of it all, there’s little time to waste as the players get accustomed to their new-look facilities. Regular-season games begin in 20 days and that means pitchers, in particular, need to ramp up quickly.

“It’s going to be almost immediate,” pitching coach Dave Bush said. “Hopefully starting (Saturday) there are going to be a couple guys who can face hitters. It’ll pick up in intensity quite a bit in the beginning of the next week. And they’ve known that for a while. That was the expectation laid out throughout this whole process that whenever we do get back together they need to be ready to face hitters right away.”

Roenicke, who sat in the interview room on the ground floor at Fenway while talking to media members in the press box five levels above on a video call, anticipated the club partaking in intrasquad games as early as the end of next week.

“It’s hard to say whether I’m confident in it,” Roenicke said when asked about whether he thinks the season will actually get off the ground. “I think the protocols that they put into place with testing, with how we come into the ballpark every day, answer questions, take our temperature, go through the tests … I feel pretty confident that we’re doing the best we can. It doesn’t mean that things can’t go a little south, but I think we’re doing everything we can to keep these guys as safe as we can and to try to keep the virus out of our teams.”