Giants finally receive test results, plan to resume workouts
After an initial delay in the processing of coronavirus tests at a Salt Lake City lab, the San Francisco Giants have received all of their results from COVID-19 tests on July 4 and will resume workouts at Oracle Park on Wednesday.
The team said all tests of players and staff came back negative.
The news comes a day after the Giants announced they were temporarily suspending workouts when players, coaches and staff who were tested on Saturday had not received their results.
Manager Gabe Kapler said he anticipated “hiccups” in the testing process and understood the delay after canceling Tuesday’s workout. After speaking with officials at the MLB league office, Kapler expressed optimism the team would have results by Wednesday and be prepared to resume workouts.
The Giants’ first-year manager was not concerned that missing a day of practice would be a major setback for the club as it prepares for a July 23 season-opener against the Los Angeles Dodgers.
“We think that a mental recovery day, after three days of going really hard, there’s some benefit to that,” Kapler said Tuesday.
Giants pitcher Luis Madero, 2019 firstround draft choice Hunter Bishop and two “individuals” who the organization has not received permission to identify are the only known people associated with the club to have tested positive for COVID-19 in the last two weeks.
It is not believed the unidentified individuals are players or members of the Giants coaching staff.
Giants players were tested again on Monday for the coronavirus as players and coaches are expected to be tested every two days. It is unclear when the Giants will receive results from Monday’s tests, but Kapler expressed hope the results could be turned around by Wednesday.
A top outfield prospect headlines Giants’ latest additions to player pool
SAN FRANCISCO — Another top outfield prospect is joining the San Francisco Giants’ player pool.
The Giants announced Wednesday that outfielder Alexander Canario, 20, has been added to the team’s player pool for summer camp as he will join a growing list of highly touted prospects at Oracle Park.
Canario is one of three additions to the player pool Wednesday, joining lefthanded pitcher Caleb Baragar and right-hander Sam Wolff.
Baragar did not receive an invitation to big league camp during spring training, but the former ninthround draft pick (2016) is coming off of an impressive 2019 season in which he posted a 3.45 ERA in 22 games for Double-A Richmond before tossing five innings of two-hit ball in the Triple-A National Championship for the Sacramento River Cats.
Wolff, who was acquired in the trade that sent lefthanded pitcher Matt Moore to the Texas Rangers in December 2017, was in major league camp this spring after finishing with a 2.87 ERA across two minor league levels last year.
With three new players set to practice with the Giants, the team’s pool now includes 59 players and could hit the maximum of 60 if 2019 first-round draft choice Hunter Bishop tests negative for COVID-19 and receives clearance to fly to San Francisco.
Bishop was expected to be part of the Giants’ initial player pool, but the power-hitting outfielder tested positive for the coronavirus at his offseason residence in Arizona before the pool was announced.
Canario is the latest high-profile addition to a strong group of position player prospects working out in Giants camp. He joins recent Giants first round draft picks including Patrick Bailey (2020), Joey Bart (2018), Heliot Ramos (2017) as well as other top international signees including Marco Luciano and Luis Toribio.
Canario played much of last summer with shortseason Salem-Keizer, where he hit .301 with a .904 OPS and nine home runs. The Dominican Republic native made a few cameos with the Giants during spring training games, but is likely a few years away from making his major league debut.
It’s possible the Giants will add other top prospects to their player pool, but those additions likely won’t be made until later in the summer when the team sets its Opening Day roster. It’s likely the Giants will lose a handful of players off of their 40-man roster when they add non-roster free-agents to the team ahead of the 60-game regular season.
Top pitching prospects including Sean Hjelle and Seth Corry are among the promising candidates who project as future members of the Giants’ starting rotation and both are likely in the group of players who will be considered as player pool additions later in the summer.
Outside of Bart, it’s unlikely any of the franchise’s top prospects will debut with the Giants this season. The group of younger players is expected to remain in the player pool throughout the season and train at an alternate site that has yet to be determined.
The Giants have considered Triple-A Sacramento’s home field as a possible site for players in the pool who will train with the club but will not be on the major league roster, but no details have been finalized.