Yanks’ Chapman has positive test

Yankees closer Aroldis Chapman has tested positive for the coronavirus and is experiencing mild symptoms.

New York manager Aaron Boone said Saturday that Chapman “overall is doing well” but “will not be here for the foreseeable future.”

The AL East champions are scheduled to start the virusdelayed season on July 23 at Washington.

Chapman threw a bullpen session Tuesday, and Boone wouldn’t comment on whether the lefthander had been at Yankee Stadium since. Boone said the team had done contact tracing, and no other players or personnel would be forced to isolate because of Chapman’s positive test.

“We’re following all protocols,” Boone said. “We have not had any other positive tests. We adhere to all the contact tracing things. We feel like we’ve handled it and are handling it.”

Hours after Chapman’s diagnosis, Yankees slugger Aaron Judge was scratched from a simulated game with a stiff neck. The 2017 AL Rookie of the Year was set to bat second and play right field at Yankee Stadium but was taken out of the lineup shortly before first pitch.

Through the first week of monitor testing across all 30 major league camps, 17 out of 7,401 samples produced positives, a 0.2 percent rate far below the national average around 9 percent.

Pham criticizes testing process

San Diego outfielder Tommy Pham, back with the team after an earlier positive test for the coronavirus, said he had been cleared by the city’s health department July 4 to end his selfquarantine. He reiterated that he had tested negative for COVID-19, tested positive for the presence of antibodies in his blood and passed cardiological examinations.

“Technically, I’ve been testing negative every day this week,” he said. “It’s just MLB has been slow in my response to getting me my results. I technically could have been on the field Wednesday. I just haven’t had the results. The doctor told me earlier in the day I developed the antibodies and I was good to go.”

Pham said he understood the lab Major League Baseball contracted has been overwhelmed, but lamented the slow process.

“If MLB doesn’t get this testing together,” he said, “it’s going to be a bad year.”

Cespedes says he will be ready for season

Yoenis Cespedes is sure he’ll be ready to start the pandemicdelayed season with the New

York Mets.

Out of the lineup for almost two years, the 34-year-old slugger said he finally is close to fully recovered from a string of injuries to his feet and legs.

“I don’t have an exact percentage on how I feel, but I feel way better than I did back in March,” Cespedes said through a translator on a video conference call.

Indians’ DeShields returns to workouts

Cleveland outfielder Delino DeShields Jr. worked out for the first time since his COVID-19 diagnosis.

DeShields, who had mild symptoms, had been in Cleveland for a few days but wasn’t cleared until Saturday.