Nats have COVID issues ahead of opener vs. Mets
WASHINGTON – The Washington Nationals have become a prime example of how we’re not out of the woods yet in this pandemic.
On the eve of Opening Day against the Mets, one Nationals player tested positive for the coronavirus and five other people, including four players and a staff member, were quarantined following the results of contract tracing, Nats GM Mike Rizzo announced.
“We’re still in the process of finding out exactly what their status is,” Rizzo said on Wednesday. “They’re certainly out for tomorrow’s game.”
The names of the six affected have not been released. The Nationals will call up players from their alternate site to fill the roster. Rizzo indicated he was confident the game, scheduled for 7:09 p.m. on Thursday, will go on.
Max Scherzer, the Nats’ Opening Day starter, traveled separately and was not on the team’s charter flight, which is reportedly where individuals came into contact with the positive-tested player. So, three-time Cy Young award winner Scherzer is still tabbed to take the hill. Against him, Jacob deGrom will make his third consecutive Opening Day start for the Mets, who flew straight from spring training in south Florida to D.C. on Monday.
MLB enjoyed a mostly infection-free spring training before the Nationals’ positive test put a damper on the league’s successful efforts. On Friday, MLB released the results of its final round of spring training testing. Two players and two staff members total tested positive for COVID-19 out of the 13,978 tests administered across all 30 MLB teams.
The Nationals’ sudden flare-up came after a league memorandum was released to incentivize players to receive one of the three approved COVID-19 vaccines from Moderna, Pfizer or Johnson & Johnson. The league would then ease COVID-19 restrictions for those on the field if at least 85% of players and primary staff become fully vaccinated.
“For purposes of this memo, individuals are considered ‘fully vaccinated’ two weeks after receiving their second dose of a two-dose vaccine (Pfizer or Moderna) or two weeks after their first dose of a single dose vaccine (Johnson & Johnson),” the memo, obtained by the Associated Press stated.
The Cardinals reached that 85% threshold on Wednesday, St. Louis manager Mike Shildt announced. The club still must wait two weeks before MLB will allow it to relax some protocols — including clubhouse and travel policies and mask and social-distancing regulations.