COVID-19 Notes: Bryant, Nola, Jays, A’s, Giants

Cubs third baseman/outfielder Kris Bryant has become the game’s latest superstar to voice his apprehension over a potential 2020 Major League Baseball campaign. Speaking to Steve Greenberg of the Chicago Sun-Times and other reporters Monday, Bryant stated in regards to MLB’s COVID-19 testing problems: ‘‘What we agreed to was testing every day. We have had guys here that showed up on Sunday and hadn’t gotten tested again seven days later. And then you don’t get the results for two days, either, so that’s nine days without knowing. And I think if we really want this to succeed, we’re going to have to figure this out.”

Bryant – who had to wait five days between his first and second tests – added that he doesn’t feel comfortable about playing this year, which aligns with what fellow MVP winner Mike Trout stated last week. Like Trout, there’s no indication Bryant will opt out. However, Bryant noted that it ‘‘wouldn’t surprise me at all” if the league were to end up canceling the season.

• Phillies No. 1 starter Aaron Nola had been out of Summer Camp because of coronavirus protocols, but he reported Monday and revealed why he was sidelined, per the Associated Press. While Nola did not test positive, he was exposed to someone who did, which forced him to stay away from the club for a short period. “If you don’t have symptoms and you come in contact with somebody who ends up testing positive, you’re out for probably at least seven days,” Nola said. “That could possibly be two starts. It’s obviously going to be a hard part of it. And sometimes it’s out of our control. We just have to try to do our part every day.”
• The Blue Jays opened Summer Camp in Toronto, but one of their players tested positive for the coronavirus at their spring training facility in Dunedin, Fla., Bob Nightengale of USA Today was among those to report. As a result, the Blue Jays left 12 players in Florida who had “direct contact” with the person who tested positive, Nightengale writes. This isn’t the first time the virus has posed a significant problem for Toronto, which had to shut down its spring complex last month because of positive tests. And COVID could prevent the Jays from playing their regular-season home games in Toronto this year, though they continue to hope that won’t be the case.
• Delays in receiving test results have been a problem for the Athletics, whose general manager, David Forst, has expressed his frustration over the matter. But the A’s finally did get the latest results, according to Martin Gallegos of MLB.com, and their position players were able to practice in Oakland on Monday night. Forst did not comment on whether anyone tested positive, though.
• Two more individuals in the Giants organization have logged positive tests, Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area tweets. Their identities aren’t known to the public, so it’s unclear whether they’re players. Giants outfielder Hunter Bishop and infielder Luis Madero previously tested positive.