Yankees’ Cole out following positive COVID19 test
Righthander Gerrit Cole has tested positive for the coronavirus and will not make his scheduled start Tuesday, the latest virus setback for the Yankees.
New York manager Aaron Boone made the announcement after Monday’s loss to the Orioles. Boone said he was told of the positive test in the second inning.
“As of now, he is the only one,” Boone said.
Last month, outfielder Aaron Judge was among six Yankees players who tested positive for coronavirus.
Cole is 106 with a 3.11 ERA in 21 starts. The fourtime AllStar is coming off a 140 loss at Tampa Bay on Thursday in which he allowed eight runs in 5 1 ⁄3 innings.
Brewers scramble:
AllStar closer Josh Hader has joined the growing collection of Milwaukee players on the COVID19 injured list.
Milwaukeemanager Craig Counsell said Hader reported contact with someone experiencing “COVIDlike symptoms.”
“So we tested him, and it came back positive,” Counsell said before the Brewers’ game with the Pirates on Monday.
The Pirates also were facing virusrelated issues. Pittsburgh placed pitcher Chad Kuhl on the COVID19 list after a positive test and recalled pitcher Shea Spitzbarth from TripleA Indianapolis.
Milwaukee outfielder Christian Yelich and pitchers Jake Cousins, Jandel Gustave and Hunter Strickland already had been placed on the COVID19 list over the past few days.
Hader’s absence puts even more pressure on a bullpen that already had lost Cousins, Gustave and Strickland. The Brewers did shore up their relief corps by adding Daniel Norris and John Curtiss at the trade deadline.
Milwaukee made one more move to boost its bullpen Monday by acquiring John Axford from the Blue Jays. Axford, who hasn’t pitched in the majors since 2018, was with the Brewers from 2009 through ’13 and set a franchise record with 46 saves in 2011.
Rays eye Florida surge:
The Rays are keeping players and staff updated about the surge of coronavirus cases in Florida.
Tampa Bay manager Kevin Cash said before Monday night’s game with Seattle that the team’s training staff is “pretty adamant about getting messages out and keeping people aware” of the evolving situation.
“Look, we’re all concerned,” Cash said. “I think the players are very aware. We all kind of had our fingers crossed that we were going to get past this to an extent, but it doesn’t feel that way right now. So we’ll try to do our due diligence in keeping our group as safe as possible.”
Florida reported 21,683 new cases of the coronavirus Friday, the state’s highest oneday total since the start of the pandemic, according to federal health data.
IL additions: The Phillies placed outfielder Andrew McCutchen and pitcher Vince Velasquez on the 10day injured list . ... Also hitting the 10day IL were Seattle second baseman Shed Long Jr., Baltimore pitcher Ryan Hartman and Mets pitcher Miguel Castro.