A’s Diekman blasts delay in test results
After two days of delays with MLB’s coronavirus testing program, A’s reliever Jake Diekman, who is atrisk because of his history of ulcerative colitis, has considered opting out of the planned 60game season.
Diekman told The Chronicle on Monday that he and his wife, Amanda, discussed him stepping back once the testing snafus became apparent over the weekend, but he’d still prefer to play.
“We’ve had conversations about what it would look like if we opted out,” Diekman said. “We knew there would be hiccups, but we didn’t know there would be hiccups with the actual test results because that’s basically the No. 1 priority. Everything else is secondary. I feel like deep down, every player has it in the back of their mind that this is all going to fall apart.”
“I honestly feel like this is just going to get shut down in a week, or everyone is going to opt out.”
Diekman, like the rest of the A’s and team officials, is furious that Oakland’s first two workouts with position players were affected
while most other clubs have had their full squads in action since at least Friday. The A’s did not get their intake testing results back until 6:41 p.m. Monday, which is when the team’s position players who were cleared took the field.
“It irks me so much that’s even happening,” Diekman said. “Today’s July 6, our first game is the 24th — how are we supposed to be ready? I just don’t get it. Some teams have already had televised simulated games and we haven’t had a workout yet. We have hitters who haven’t seen any live pitching in months and we’re supposed to play in just over two weeks?
“It was already really aggressive to have a 20day spring training, but you can’t have some teams start almost a week after everyone else.”
The A’s canceled their first workout for position players Sunday because MLB’s Sports Medicine Research and Testing Lab apparently was not equipped to test on the July 4 holiday. Then MLB failed to schedule a pickup Sunday and the team’s tests weren’t expected to get to the Utah lab until Monday. The A’s were not informed of the possibility of holiday or Sunday delays. The Astros and Nationals canceled workouts Monday because of testing delays, and other teams, such as the Padres and Angels, also were dealing with incomplete results.
“This is a total s—show,” one A’s official said.
MLB put out a statement saying 98% of the league’s initial testing had been concluded and the rest would be done Monday, and the release went on to say: “Our plan required extensive delivery and shipping services, including proactive special accommodations to account for the holiday weekend. The vast majority of those deliveries occurred without incident and allowed the protocols to function as planned.
“Unfortunately, several situations included unforeseen delays. We have addressed the delays caused by the holiday weekend and do not expect a recurrence.”
By Monday night, general manager David Forst was feeling better about the situation as he watched the A’s position players begin their first workout.
“I expect it to get better,” Forst said, noting all players are now on an everyotherday testing schedule. “I think the players expect that and deserve that.”
Forst said he does not believe the delay will affect the team’s ability to get ready. “I don’t think they’re going to worry about being behind,” he said. “This is all going to go quickly.”
Forst would not say whether any A’s position players had not been cleared to work out Monday, nor would he say whether starter Mike Fiers and Jesús Luzardo have been cleared; manager Bob Melvin said Sunday that the two are not working out because of “pending issues.”
“I can’t elaborate on that,” Forst said.
Diekman commended the steps the A’s have taken to ensure the health of everyone at the Coliseum, which includes moving training and weight rooms to the parking lot, among other major changes, but he’s frustrated with MLB’s missteps in handling the most basic element of the safety protocols.
“It’s very good at the field; this isn’t anything to do with the team,” Diekman said. “But if MLB is going to put on this bigass show, right now, they’re putting 35 guys or more atrisk with every team. MLB owns the lab. They had 120 days to get this together . ... I don’t feel like they have any grasp on what’s going on.”
Diekman said that there are concerns that dozens of players might test positive in the next round of testing because many were exposed to others whose results came back positive in the initial tests.
“Everyone has the itch to play. Everyone wants to get on the field,” Diekman said. “This is what we’re programmed to do, basically. We’re all competitive and ready to go. But this is a mess.”