Uneventful spring training sure got eventful in a hurry

FORT MYERS, Fla. — Catcher Christian Vazquez was accidentally hit in the face by a thrown ball during a drill on Thursday afternoon and went down in a heap, blood streaming from a cut under his left eye.

A day later, the Red Sox decided to scratch Eduardo Rodriguez from his Opening Day assignment because of a dead arm, which sounds worse than it actually is but isn’t good by any means.

Then on Saturday morning, the Red Sox were informed that bullpen mainstay Matt Barnes had tested positive for COVID19 and would be away from the team for at least 10 days.

Righthander Matt Andriese was then sent home after it was determined he had been in close contact with Barnes.

“It’s a fire drill now, right?” manager Alex Cora said.

Multiple alarms. What had been a quiet and productive camp for the Red Sox flipped in a span of about 40 hours, and Opening Day is coming up Thursday at Fenway Park.

Cora was thrown out of baseball last year and wondered for a while if he might need to find another line of work, so it takes a lot to shake him up. But this was a test.

He put aside the baseball problems for a day and focused on making sure the Sox were following the right procedures.

That the coaches and players were allowed to board three buses for a road game against the Pirates only a few hours after hearing about Barnes seemed surprising.

But Major League Baseball examined the circumstances and allowed it based on the initial contact tracing data. One positive test is not enough to cancel a game, even in spring training.

“The players were worried; we were worried,” Cora said. “As far as the guidelines and protocols, we’re comfortable with it. It’s one of those, we have a positive, but we did everything that we’re supposed to do to keep moving forward. Everybody was nervous at one point.”

As the Sox were preparing to leave for Bradenton, some of their other issues resolved on their own.

Vazquez arrived at the ballpark and said he felt better. He had some tests to make sure his vision wasn’t affected by the accident, but the expectation is he’ll be ready for Opening Day.

It takes a lot more than a wayward throw to knock out a catcher.

At about the same time, Rodriguez took the mound in the bullpen and threw 36 pitches. His dead arm came back to life and he said he was ready to prepare for a start.

It won’t be the opener, but it could well be Game 2 or 3. That Rodriguez threw with confidence from the mound is what matters for now. The Sox will wait to see how he feels Sunday morning before making plans, but the lefthander is moving in a positive direction.

Barnes is going to be out at least 10 days, which means a minimum of four regular-season games. The Sox have Adam Ottavino on hand to be the closer, but now everybody else in the bullpen gets pushed up a spot.

Barnes has pitched well all spring and this setback is ill-timed. Fortunately, he does not exhibit any symptoms.

Since the relievers often share the same spaces, the concern is the Sox could lose another one or two of their late-inning options.

With Barnes on the special COVID-19 injured list, the Sox can add a player to the 40-man roster. So righthanders Kevin McCarthy and Marcus Walden, who were assigned to minor league camp on Friday, are now options.

The roster decisions are minutia at this point. Cora kept track of baseball while in exile last season and saw what teams such as the Marlins and Cardinals went through to find enough players after mini outbreaks within their ranks.

The Sox will put together a team. As far as problems go, that’s a minor one.