Soto Tests Positive for Covid-19
Just hours before the beginning of Major League Baseball’s pandemic-shortened season, ESPN’s Jeff Passan reported that Juan Soto tested positive for Covid-19. A potentially cratering loss for the Washington Nationals, who begin their World Series title defense at 7 p.m. against the New York Yankees.
Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo confirmed the report, adding that Soto is asymptomatic. Rizzo said Soto took the test two days ago, the same day Washington hosted the Baltimore Orioles in an exhibition game. All other Nationals tests have come back negative, and Rizzo said no other player is out after contact tracing.
The Nationals placed Soto on the Covid-19 injured list, and he must test negative twice, 24 hours apart, to return to the team, per MLB protocol. MLB is exempt from the District of Columbia’s 14-day quarantine period as a result of a positive test, but Soto has to self-isolate until he is cleared.
This timeline illustrates just how quickly the novel coronavirus can spread. While it is encouraging that all the other Nationals tested negative, it does not guarantee that someone else will not test positive this weekend.
“I’m a little bit more concerned now until we get our next results back and everyone tests negative,” manager Dave Martinez said. “We’re going to miss him, obviously, but we do have Opening Day today.”
From a baseball standpoint, this is far from optimal for Washington. Soto’s absence creates a huge hole in the heart of the Nats’ batting order. Last season, Soto slashed .282/.401/.548 with 34 home runs and 110 RBI, and he kept a pretty similar pace in October, including three homers in the World Series alone.
Michael A. Taylor and Andrew Stevenson are both candidates to fill the void. Taylor has more MLB experience, including a pair of home runs in the 2019 postseason, but he and Victor Robles cannot both play center field. Stevenson is a left-handed hitter, and would be a better option in left field.
