The Yankees were hit by the coronavirus again, as Aroldis Chapman became the latest to test positive for coronavirus. The closer will be out “for the foreseeable future,” manager Aaron Boone said Saturday.
Boone added the 32-year-old Chapman has “mild symptoms, but overall is doing well.”
Chapman won’t be allowed to rejoin the team for spring training 2.0 until he meets MLB protocols — which means he’ll need two consecutive negative tests, is free of fever for at least 72 hours and is cleared by a doctor. Boone added that as of Saturday afternoon, no additional players had tested positive and they had already gone through contact tracing.
“I feel like we’re in a good spot,’’ Boone said.
DJ LeMahieu and Luis Cessa previously tested positive and have been isolating outside of The Bronx.
Aaron Hicks said the news that a teammate had contracted the virus while in camp wasn’t too surprising.
“It’s hard to say that we expected to go through the whole season without anyone testing positive,’’ Hicks said. “That would be remarkable. It’s just a part of what’s going around right now. You can get COVID at any time right now. It’s unpredictable and you can’t see it. That makes it tough.”
And Hicks admitted he wonders if he’s been exposed.
“Definitely,’’ Hicks said. “We still communicate with each other, except we have masks on. Of course you automatically go back through your head [and say], ‘Was I ever near this guy?’ Everyone understands it’s not anybody’s fault. We’re doing everything we can to be safe and it still happened.”
Boone acknowledged it likely won’t be the last time it happens.
“Again, this is something that, even moving forward, a positive test is probably gonna come our way,’’ Boone said. “It’s about doing all the things as a whole to keep us safe and healthy. But right now, I feel like we’re doing a good job in here of managing.”
With Chapman out, Zack Britton is a candidate to take over as closer if Chapman is unavailable when the regular season is scheduled to begin July 23 in Washington.
“Obviously, Britton has been an elite closer in this game a long time and is still a great pitcher,’’ Boone said. “He naturally can fill that role. … But with our bullpen and our pitchers, we feel confident in a lot of guys.”
Chapman had taken part in spring training activities this past week. He missed the first day of spring training 2.0 while waiting for his intake COVID-19 results, which came back negative.
A subsequent test revealed Chapman’s diagnosis.
News of Chapman contracting the coronavirus comes as multiple players across the league have tested positive since the beginning of spring training 2.0 last week, while others have opted out of the 2020 season.
The Yankees haven’t had anyone opt out and Hicks said he believed the season would begin on time.
Asked if he had any doubt the season would start, Hicks paused and said, “No, not really.
“I feel like I’m prepared for my team to get ready for this season,’’ Hicks said. “The only way we are not going to play this season is if a lot more teams are not trying to play. I feel like my team is preparing to play this year and motivated to play this year.”
And Hicks isn’t too concerned about any teammates going out on the road and exposing themselves to the virus.
“All our team does is play video games,’’ Hicks said with a laugh. “So I’m not too worried about my team going out and getting wild because they like their video games.”