COVID-19 Affecting Colorado Rockies

The Colorado Rockies began the second half of the 2021 season on Friday night, and they had to do it without four players and their head coach.

Major League Baseball has not had to deal with many COVID-19 issues so far this season, but it has been a rough two days for the league.

Colorado hosted the Los Angeles Dodgers on Friday night, and the team still took the field despite the small outbreak. As COVID-19 positive cases continue to rise throughout the US, MLB is hoping that these issues don’t become the norm.

Three pitchers, Antonio Senzatela, Yency Almonte, and Jhoulys Chacin, were all placed on the COVID-19 injured list before the start of Friday’s game. Outfielder Yonathan Daza was the fourth player to be added to the list.

After the league conducted its contact tracing, it was determined that manager Bud Black would have to miss the game as well. First-base coach Ron Gideon has also been ruled out due to contact tracing, leaving the Rockies short-handed on the coaching staff as well.

Mike Redmond is the bench coach under Black, and he will take over the head coaching duties until the manager returns. Dough Bernier, Major League Data and Game Planning Coordinator, will step onto the field and coach first base in Gideon’s absence.

Colorado is one of the teams that has reached the 85% vaccinated threshold, but that has not helped them in this case. The league or the team does not go into specifics when making these COVID-19 announcements.

The Rockies were forced to make a number of roster moves before the game to fill the empty roster spots. It’s unclear how long these four players will be away from the team, as it depends on a number of factors.

Colorado just recently hosted the All-Star Game this week at Coors Field, and Major League Baseball was concerned with a leaguewide outbreak. Members of the Los Angeles Dodgers underwent two rounds of testing to ensure their health status prior to the series opener.

Yankees Also Being Hit Hard

The news of the positive tests for Rockies players came less than 24 hours after the league was forced to postpone the first game after the break. The New York Yankees were set to host the Boston Red Sox, but that game was ultimately postponed due to COVID-19 issues.

The Yankees had six different players test positive prior to the game on Thursday, including All-Star Aaron Judge. All six players were immediately placed on the COVID-19 IL and are expected to miss close to two weeks.

Since Judge just spent this week at the All-Star Game, the other attendees will be monitored closely throughout the league. MLB already has a strict testing policy in place, but it will increase those protocols to ensure the virus is not spreading.

This is the second time that the Yankees have had to deal with a COVID-19 outbreak, and vaccinated players continue to be affected. Major League Baseball went ahead with the scheduled game on Friday night.

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