ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Late Tuesday night, the Yankees said first base coach Reggie Willits and a support staff member who wasn’t a coach brought their positive COVID-19 test total to three.
The announcement was made not long after a 3-1 win over the Rays at Tropicana Field on Tuesday night.
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Here’s everything we know about the Yankees’ coronavirus outbreak:
Confirmed positives: Willits and the unnamed support staff member joined third base coach Phil Nevin as the team’s confirmed positive tests. The team announced Nevin’s status before the game. All three of the men were fully vaccinated, the team said.
There might be more: Pitching coach Matt Blake was absent from Tuesday’s game. Bullpen coach Mike Harkey handled his duties, visiting reliever Jonathan Loaisiga on the mound in the seventh inning. Mario Garza, a player development coordinator with minor-league managing experience, handled first base coach duties while bench coach. Bench coach Carlos Mendoza served as third base coach.
Which vaccine did they get? Staff from Montefiore Medical Center administered the one-shot Johnson & Johnson vaccine to players, staff and coaches at Yankee Stadium on April 7. However, it’s possible the Yankees’ confirmed positives weren’t vaccinated that day and that they received different brand shots.
When it started: The Yankees began to receive word of potential positive tests Sunday night after the team flew from New York to Florida.
Will they play Wednesday? Yankees manager Aaron Boone said he “absolutely” expects that the game vs. the Rays will take place.
Why did they play Tuesday? Yankees starting pitcher Gerrit Cole, a leading voice and someone with experience as a players union team representative, said the players met en mass before the win and decided together to play. “We spoke together as a group of players to see what we’re all feeling,” Cole told reporters via Zoom, “how we’re dealing with this, what we can do to protect ourselves, lay out the plan for the next few days. “We were in contact with the joint committee in terms of what we can legally do and what we’re comfortable with and what the doctors are saying about our environment and that’s really about all we can do.” Cole added that “as a whole, we decided to press on.”
Now what? Boone said he didn’t know what would be next in terms of elevated health and safety protocols. He said he wasn’t sure whether the club would face more frequent testing, but added that he expected to be tested Wednesday morning. The Yankees’ coaching staff wore masks in the dugout during the game. They hadn’t been required to do that since the team’s traveling party reached an 85% vaccination rate.
Health: Boone said that Nevin was doing “OK” and that he was quarantining. The team didn’t say how the other two were feeling.
History: The Yankees’ first positive coronavirus case was a minor-leaguer during the first spring training in Tampa in 2020. Before spring training 2.0, second baseman DJ LeMahieu and reliever Luis Cessa each tested positive. Closer Aroldis Chapman tested positive just after 2.0 began. In the offseason, third baseman Gio Urshela and reliever Zack Britton each tested positive for the virus.
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Brendan Kuty may be reached at [email protected]. Tell us your coronavirus story or send a tip here.
