Astros missing 8 pitchers over virus

General manager says no plans to pause team events at camp

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — The Houston Astros are minus eight pitchers because of COVID-19 protocols, but general manager James Click said there were no plans to pause activity.

Manager Dusty Baker said Friday that pitchers Cristian Javier, Pedro Báez, Francis Martes, Enoli Paredes and Hector Velazquez were out. On Thursday, Baker said pitchers Bryan Abreu, Ronel Blanco and Luis Garcia were sent away from the complex.

It was not known whether the eight pitchers had tested positive for the virus or had come in close contact with someone who had tested positive. There was no exact timetable for their return, but they must quarantine for at least a week under Major League Baseball’s health and safety protocols.

Earlier this week, the Astros lost starter Framber Valdez when he suffered a broken left finger while fielding a ball in an exhibition game.

The Astros aren’t in any danger of running out of pitchers. They list 23 pitchers on their 40-man roster, plus 16 more nonroster pitchers in camp. Jose Urquidy started and pitched two innings Friday against Miami.

Click said the team wasn’t worried about a possible camp shutdown.

“No, we are not concerned about that,” he told Houston media, adding the protocols are “designed to isolate any potential issues and prevent them from reaching a scale at which point we would have to consider shutting down or pausing.”

Click said the team had a plan in place to permit the players to continue their work, albeit away from the club complex. As for pitching plans in the upcoming week, Baker said it was a matter of “adjust and readjust.”

“We’ve just got to find a way to work around it and find a solution. We’re missing quite a few arms now. We’re concerned, but fortunately we had more pitchers than we knew what to do with when we opened camp,” he told Houston reporters.

The Astros share their spring training complex with the Washington Nationals.

“We heard that they had some things going on over there,” Washington manager Dave Martinez said. “Today was our testing day. Before we got tested, we asked guys questions about whether they were with any of the Houston Astros, coaches included. They all said no.”