We just got another chilling reminder of how difficult it will be to play sports during a pandemic.
Washington Nationals star outfielder Juan Soto will not play tonight against the New York Yankees after testing positive for the coronavirus. ESPN’s Jeff Passan was the first to report the news.
Washington Nationals star Juan Soto has tested positive for COVID-19 and will miss tonight's season opener against the New York Yankees, sources tell ESPN.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) July 23, 2020
Mike Rizzo told reporters later that Soto is asymptomatic.
Mike Rizzo says Juan is asymptomatic right now. Rizzo says he was tested two days ago and the results were received early this morning. Rizzo says no one else is inactive after contact tracing.
— Jesse Dougherty (@dougherty_jesse) July 23, 2020
He has tested negative multiple times throughout the last several weeks.
Rizzo says Soto is asymptomatic. Has tested negative multiple times throughout last several weeks, but can't be cleared until he tests negative again.
— Mark Zuckerman (@MarkZuckerman) July 23, 2020
Andrew Stevenson will start in Soto’s place.
Dave Martinez says that Andrew Stevenson will play left field tonight in place of Juan Soto.
— Jesse Dougherty (@dougherty_jesse) July 23, 2020
During Spring Training 2.0 in July, Soto missed the first two weeks of camp after coming in contact with a teammate who had tested positive for coronavirus. Soto was forced to isolate away from the team and did not take the field until July 16. Victor Robles also had to do the same.
The news comes as the Nationals planned to celebrate their 2019 World Series title with a flag raising and gold jerseys (which are available for purchase online here). Dr. Anthony Fauci will also throw out the first pitch.
Soto was a huge part of the Nationals’ World Series team. He hit .333 in the series, slamming three homers and driving in seven. He also drew five walks. In total, he had five home runs and 14 RBI’s total during the postseason.
No other players were held off the Nationals’ 30-man roster to start the 2020 season except for Soto.
60-game sprint starts tonight.#OpeningDay // #NATITUDE pic.twitter.com/zjKEaNNS6U
— Washington Nationals (@Nationals) July 23, 2020
Nationals’ ace Max Scherzer will start tonight’s game and take on Gerrit Cole in a World Series rematch.
BAH GAWD THAT'S WORLD SERIES CHAMPION MAX SCHERZER'S MUSIC#Scherzday // #NATITUDE pic.twitter.com/CLPQ9Cx5wy
— Washington Nationals (@Nationals) July 23, 2020
Headline photo: Ian Oland/RMNB
