The Washington Nationals will be without one of their bright young stars Thursday when they open the season against the New York Yankees.
Washington manager Mike Rizzo announced Juan Soto tested positive for COVID-19. The outfielder is asymptomatic and “no one else on the roster was deemed ineligible following contact tracing,” Rizzo said, per ESPN.
Soto will need to return two negative tests before rejoining the Nats.
“We’ve got to make our plans to play without Juan for an extended period of time,” Rizzo said, per ESPN. “We’re going to have to learn how to adjust to these things. The team that does the best job of keeping their star players on the field and healthy has a better chance of winning.”
Yankees manager Aaron Boone said, despite Soto’s positive test, he has “no hesitation” about playing the game, per MLB.com’s Bryan Hoch, adding “players understand what they signed up for.”
Boone says he has “no hesitation” playing tonight’s game after Juan Soto’s positive COVID-19 test. Said players understand what they signed up for and that there is some unavoidable risk.
— Bryan Hoch (@BryanHoch) July 23, 2020
Dr. Anthony Fauci will throw out the first pitch from Nationals Park at 7:08 p.m. ET.
