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Monday’s Twins-Athletics Game Postponed

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7:34PM: The Twins’ latest round of COVID-19 testing came back negative, The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal reports (via Twitter).  If tomorrow’s tests are also negative, the team will depart for Oakland with the intention of playing the Tuesday doubleheader.

1:37PM: Major League Baseball has confirmed the postponement of tomorrow’s game. A Tuesday doubleheader has been tentatively scheduled.

1:29PM: Athletics manager Bob Melvin told reporters this afternoon it is his understanding tomorrow’s game between the Twins and Athletics will be postponed (via Betsy Helfand of the St. Paul Pioneer-Press). The hope is the two teams will be able to return to action on Tuesday, with a doubleheader to make up Monday’s game a possibility.

The Twins’ past two games against the Angels were postponed due to the spread of a COVID-19 variant among the Minnesota clubhouse. To date, three Minnesota players (including Andrelton Simmons and Kyle Garlick) and a staff member have tested positive. The Twins are continuing to monitor for further viral spread.

Minnesota and Oakland were originally scheduled for a three-game series from April 19-21. Both teams have a scheduled off day on Thursday.

COVID Notes: 4/18/21

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The latest on the coronavirus:

Latest Updates

Earlier Notes

  • Blue Jays outfielder Teoscar Hernández was reported to have tested positive for COVID-19 on April 13. Fortunately, Hernández is no longer feeling symptoms of the virus, reports Rob Longley of the Toronto Sun (Twitter link). He’ll have to remain in quarantine for ten days from the time of his positive test under the league’s 2021 health and safety protocols. That he’s currently asymptomatic is obviously good news for Hernández personally and seems to bode well for his chances of returning to play in relatively short order once his mandatory quarantine is up.
  • Tigers starter Spencer Turnbull has been in the health and safety protocols for almost a month, having first been placed on the COVID-19 injured list on March 20. He has been building back arm strength in recent days, though, and manager A.J. Hinch told reporters (including Chris McCosky of the Detroit News) Turnbull could return to action early next week. It’s possible the Tigers will pivot to a six-man rotation at that point, adding Turnbull to a group currently consisting of Matthew Boyd, Michael Fulmer, José Ureña, Tarik Skubal and Casey Mize. Hinch said the organization hasn’t yet made that decision. If the Tigers were to go back to a five-man starting staff, Fulmer (who began the season in relief) or Ureña (who has struggled over three starts) would seem the most likely options to be bumped to the bullpen to make room for Turnbull. [UPDATE: Turnbull will start on Wednesday against the Pirates, per Jason Beck of MLB.com (Twitter link).]

Latest On Twins’ COVID-19 Situation

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APRIL 18: All four of the Twins’ positive cases (Simmons’, Garlick’s, and the unnamed player’s and staff member’s) are linked to one of the COVID-19 variants, Hayes writes.

APRIL 17, 8:03PM: Sunday’s game will also not take place, according to Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register (via Twitter).

ARPIL 17, 7:53PM: Talking to The Athletic’s Fabian Ardaya and other reporters, Baldelli confirmed Garlick’s positive test.  Another unnamed player has also tested positive, as well as the aforementioned staff member on Friday.

APRIL 17, 7:13PM: Kyle Garlick has tested positive for COVID-19, Betsy Helfand of the St. Paul Pioneer Press reports (Twitter link), and “the Twins have concern there could be additional positives within their group.”  At least one Twins player tested positive for COVID-19 today, according to The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal.  The virus problems don’t seem to be related to Simmons’ case, as The Athletic’s Dan Hayes reports that Simmons hasn’t been around the team since Tuesday, and contact tracing revealed “little crossover” between the shortstop and the currently-affected parties.

APRIL 17, 6:56PM: Tonight’s scheduled game between the Twins and Angels has been postponed due to unspecified issues related to COVID-19, the league announced.  According to MLB’s media release, the postponement was made “to allow for continued testing and contact tracing involving members of the Twins organization.”

Minnesota shortstop Andrelton Simmons was placed on the COVID list earlier this week, and manager Rocco Baldelli had a false positive for the virus that almost prevented him from joining the team on their West Coast road trip.  Last night’s opening game of the series went ahead as planned (a 10-3 victory for the Angels) even though another Twins staff member did test positive.

Today, Baldelli told reporters (including Megan Ryan of the Minneapolis Star Tribune) that “The details of what’s going on and who it is and who is potentially in contact-tracing and things like that, we’re still working through all of that, and we’re not prepared to discuss it all until we’ve had all of the conversations that we need to.  Just more challenges that we have to deal with, and that’s what we have to do.  We have to kind of keep our heads up.”

MLB’s statement made no mention of Sunday’s scheduled afternoon tilt in Anaheim, though the league “will continue to provide updates as available.”

Cubs Reinstate Brandon Workman, Dan Winkler; Reassign Pedro Strop

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April 17: Chicago announced they’re reinstating Workman and Winkler from the IL in advance of this afternoon’s game against the Braves. Steele has been optioned to the team’s alternate training site in South Bend, while Strop has been reassigned to the alternate site. Under the league’s 2021 health and safety protocols, Strop needs not be exposed to waivers to be removed from the 40-man roster as a COVID-19 replacement.

April 12: The Cubs have placed three members of their bullpen – right-handers Jason Adam, Brandon Workman and Dan Winkler – on the COVID-19 injured list, Robert Murray of FanSided was among those to report. The move came “out of abundance of caution” after bullpen coach Chris Young tested positive for COVID-19. To take the pitchers’ places, the Cubs recalled fellow hurlers Brad Wieck and Justin Steele, and they selected Pedro Strop’s contract, per Jesse Rogers of ESPN.com.

It’s unclear how much time Adam, Workman and Winkler will miss, but all three are quarantining away from the club, Bob Nightengale of USA Today tweets. The Cubs have received a combined 11 1/3 innings from Adam, Workman and Winkler this season. Adam has been the most successful of the three, having given up one earned run and struck out seven hitters in 3 2/3 innings. Workman has surrendered three runs (two earned) over 3 2/3 frames, but he has totaled five strikeouts. Winkler has yielded one ER on two hits and struck out five across four innings, though he has succeeded despite walking a batter per nine.

The Cubs signed Strop to a minor league contract in the offseason, and the righty is now in line for his second MLB stint with the organization. Now 35 years old, Strop was highly effective for most of his prior Cubs tenure, which ran from 2013-19. He surpassed the 60-frame mark in three of those seasons and combined for 373 innings of 2.90 ERA ball. Strop temporarily left the Cubs to join the division-rival Reds in free agency entering the 2020 campaign, but he threw a mere 2 1/3 innings before Cincinnati designated him for assignment.

COVID Notes: 4/16/21

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Friday’s coronavirus-related updates from the majors:

  • The Astros placed second baseman Jose Altuve, third baseman Alex Bregman, designated hitter Yordan Alvarez, catcher Martin Maldonado and infielder Robel Garcia on the COVID injured list Wednesday. They’re unlikely to return for the team’s five-game road trip, manager Dusty Baker told Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle and other reporters. The Astros begin a three-game series in Seattle on Friday, and they’re scheduled to play in Colorado next Tuesday and Wednesday.
  • The White Sox announced that they have reinstated right-hander Dylan Cease from the COVID IL and optioned righty Zack Burdi to their alternate site. Cease was only on the list for two days, but he’s already set to return after “a series of negative tests,” the team stated. He’ll make his third start of the season Saturday against the Red Sox. Cease logged a 3.86 ERA with nine strikeouts and six walks over 9 1/3 innings in his first two appearances.
  • Twins manager Rocco Baldelli revealed that he received a false positive test on Thursday, Betsy Helfand of the St. Paul Pioneer Press tweets. He isolated in his office and was then cleared after three or four more tests. The Twins aren’t out of the woods yet, though, as Baldelli said (via Do-Hyoung Park of MLB.com) that they’ve had “further COVID-related issues in the clubhouse” on Friday. He couldn’t offer further details.
  • The Phillies with go without three members of manager Joe Girardi’s staff because of COVID protocols, according to Todd Zolecki of MLB.com. Hitting coach Joe Dillon, third base coach Dusty Wathan and bullpen coach Dave Lundquist are all away from the team. First base coach Paco Figueroa will move across the diamond to third, and coaching assistant Bobby Meacham will take over at first, Matt Breen of the Philadelphia Inquirer reports.

COVID Notes: 4/14/21

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The latest coronavirus-related updates from the game…

  • White Sox right-hander Dylan Cease is headed to the injured list, general manager Rick Hahn told Scott Merkin of MLB.com and other reporters. Cease did not test positive for COVID-19, but he is dealing with some symptoms of the virus. The 25-year-old has has made two starts this season and given up four earned runs and nine hits while totaling nine strikeouts against six walks. The White Sox recalled Zack Burdi from their alternate site to take Cease’s roster spot.

Astros Place 5 On Injured List

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The Astros’ offense is taking a sizable hit, as the team announced Wednesday that designated hitter Yordan Alvarez, third baseman Alex Bregman, second baseman Jose Altuve, catcher Martin Maldonado and infielder Robel Garcia are all going to the injured list. The team made the moves due to health and safety protocols, according to Astros general manager James Click, who doesn’t expect their game against the Tigers on Wednesday to be postponed, Mark Berman of Fox 26 tweets.

Houston’s losing four regulars in Alvarez, Bregman, Altuve and Maldonado. The first three have been vital members of the Astros’ offense for multiple seasons, and all three have gotten off to strong starts this year. Maldonado isn’t nearly as effective at the plate, though the Astros like his defense enough that they had been finalizing a one-year extension with him as of Tuesday.

With such a large chunk of their position player group down, the Astros are bringing up infielders Abraham Toro, Alex De Goti and Taylor Jones, catcher Garrett Stubbs, and outfielder Ronnie Dawson. De Goti and Dawson weren’t on the Astros’ 40-man roster, so their contracts had to be selected.

Latest On George Springer, Teoscar Hernandez

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The Blue Jays will have to continue waiting for center fielder George Springer to make his much-anticipated debut with the team. The right quad strain that Springer suffered last week is likely to shelve him until at least April 27, Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet reports.

Toronto’s outfield will also continue to go without Teoscar Hernandez, who tested positive for COVID-19, per Scott Mitchell of TSN. Manager Charlie Montoyo said Hernandez will quarantine for 10 days, and then the Jays will re-evaluate from there.

The Blue Jays signed Springer to the offseason’s richest guarantee – six years, $150MM – though multiple injuries have dogged the former Astros standout since last month. Before going down with this quad strain, Springer was delayed by a strained oblique. At 4-6, Toronto has gotten off to a slow start without Springer, though primary center field fill-in Randal Grichuk has produced great numbers at the plate so far. The same can’t be said for backup Jonathan Davis, however.

Hernandez first went on the COVID-related injured list April 9, though it didn’t appear then that he had tested positive. Hernandez starred in 2020 with a .289/.340/.579 line and 16 home runs in 207 plate appearances, but he has slumped to a .207/.207/.310 with one HR, 14 strikeouts and no walks in 29 PA this year. Both Grichuk and Josh Palacios have seen time in right since Hernandez last played April 8.

Cubs Place Matt Duffy On COVID IL, Select Ildemaro Vargas

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The Cubs have placed infielder Matt Duffy on the COVID-19 list and selected the contract of fellow infelder Ildemaro Vargas from their alternate site, Sahadev Sharma of The Athletic tweets.

Duffy is the fourth Cubs player to land on the COVID list this week, joining pitchers Jason Adam, Brandon Workman and Dan Winkler. As Sharma notes, though, it doesn’t necessarily mean Duffy tested positive.

Chicago claimed Vargas via waivers from the Twins last September, but he lost his 40-man roster spot when the Cubs designated him for assignment in March. Vargas remained with the organization after clearing waivers. Also a former Diamondback, the light-hitting Vargas carries a .254/.282/.391 line in 298 plate appearances, though he does offer plenty of defensive versatility in the infield.

COVID Notes: 4/12/21

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The latest on coronavirus situations around baseball…

  • The Blue Jays have activated Lourdes Gurriel Jr. from the COVID-19 injured list, the team announced.  Gurriel left Friday’s game and spent two days on the COVID-IL due to some side effects after receiving a vaccine.  With Gurriel and Robbie Ray (elbow) also rejoining the roster from the 10-day injured list, infielder Santiago Espinal and right-handed reliever Joel Payamps were optioned to the Jays’ alternate training site.
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