Sale tests positive for COVID
Ace will miss at least next start
Red Sox ace Chris Sale tested positive for COVID-19 and will miss his scheduled start against the White Sox on Sunday, the latest crushing blow to the Sox as they continue to be ravaged by an outbreak in the middle of a playoff chase.
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The news comes amid a two-week stretch in which the Sox have already lost 12 other players to the COVID19 related injury list, including Jonathan Arauz, who was also put there on Friday.
“At this point, nothing shocks me, to be honest with you,” manager Alex Cora said. “On a daily basis, we go through our process and we just hope for good news. This is where we’re at. It’s unfortunate but he’ll be back.”
One of the least vaccinated teams in Major League Baseball, the Red Sox continue to remain under the 85% threshold to loosen restrictions. The outbreak started on Aug. 27 with Kiké Hernandez, who said he was vaccinated but still felt intensely sick.
Cora said he learned of Sale’s positive test on Thursday. The pitcher did not join the team on its trip to Chicago that begins a six-game road trip, but Cora said he’s not experiencing symptoms and feels good. The hope is that Sale will only miss one or two starts, with next Thursday’s off-day allowing an extra day for him to come back.
“I think the off-days will benefit us in this situation, no doubt about it,” Cora said. “As far as the days, I cannot tell you for sure if it’s 10 exactly or less, depending on the situation, but I do believe the offdays in this case, they really help us out.”
Sale already had COVID-19 once before in January.
“I got lucky,” Sale said in February. “I lost my taste and smell for about a week. I had a runny nose for a couple of days. My fever never got above 99. I had a real mild case.”
Sale is the second starter to test positive after Nick Pivetta last week. The Sox aren’t sure yet who will start Saturday and Sunday’s games against the White Sox, but they’re hoping Pivetta can join them in Chicago. If everything goes well, Cora said he would pitch Sunday. Connor Seabold, who’s on the taxi squad, or Brad Peacock could be candidates to start Saturday.
Bogaerts returns from COVID IL
Xander Bogaerts, who tested positive for COVID-19 on Aug. 31, joined the Red Sox in Chicago and was activated on Friday. The shortstop batted fourth in his return.
Cora was confident Bogaerts was ready after spending 10 days quarantined in Tampa.
“You’ve got to trust Xander, right?” Cora said. “He’s not going to go out there just to get four at-bats and not be competitive. He feels that he’s in good shape. …
“(Thursday) I talked to Xander a little bit and he’s like, ‘Hey, I’m ready to go.’ You’ve got to trust him.
Hopefully nothing bad happens. We’ll take care of him, too. We’ve got to be on top of it and see how he reacts through the game and we’ll go from there.”
More reinforcements are on their way from the COVID-19 IL. Though they weren’t active, relievers Matt Barnes and Hirokazu Sawamura were also in Chicago and throwing bullpens before Friday’s game.
Cora said he’ll sit down with them to determine a plan for their return.
Martin Perez was throwing a bullpen in Worcester on Friday, with the plan for him to pitch on Sunday. Christian Arroyo, who Cora said was hit hard with COVID-19, still isn’t ready to return. Jarren Duran is feeling better as he continues to quarantine in Boston.
Cora ‘very comfortable’ with process
Cora said he saw the comments made on Thursday by Hunter Renfroe, who said on WEEI’s ‘Merloni & Fauria’ that MLB told the Red Sox to stop testing for COVID-19 in the midst of their outbreak.
“MLB basically told us to stop the testing and just treat the symptoms,” Renfroe said. “And we were like, ‘No, we’re going to figure out what’s going on and keep trying to keep this thing under control.'”
The manager was asked point-blank if MLB asked the Sox to stop testing.
“The last time I talked to Rob (Manfred), it was about other stuff,” Cora said. “I don’t know if that’s the case. I read and I just feel like from my end, everything I’ve lived here, you get tested whenever you can. As an organization, we do an outstanding job.”
Cora hasn’t had an issue with the way everything has been handled, and said they’ve been in communication with the league.
“I can tell you from personal experience, I feel very comfortable with the way we’re doing things,” Cora said.
“We’ve been in constant communication with MLB and obviously our situation is different than 27 other teams. But I can tell you from personal experience, I feel very safe with the way we do things here. Since Day 1 in spring training all the way to today when they went to my house to take care of my family. …
“The organization is very proactive. We love that we feel safe, although it doesn’t look that way with everything going on. But from my end I feel very comfortable with the way we do things.” …
The Red Sox made three roster moves. Arauz and Sale were placed on the COVID IL, with Bogaerts being activated and Kaleb Ort being called up. Darwinzon Hernandez was activated and Austin Davis was placed on the paternity list.