Report: Yankees' Aaron Judge, Kyle Higashioka, Gio Urshela in COVID-19 protocol
MLB confirmed earlier on Thursday that the series opener between the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox was postponed due to a feared COVID-19 outbreak within the Yankees.
ESPN's Buster Olney has since reported All-Star Aaron Judge, third baseman Gio Urshela and catcher Kyle Higashioka are among Yankees players who are in the coronavirus-related protocols:
Understandably, Red Sox manager Alex Cora is concerned any one of his players exposed to Judge during the All-Star festivities held in Denver and at Coors Field could potentially test positive:
Before Olney's update, The Associated Press (h/t ESPN) noted New York pitchers Jonathan Loaisiga, Nestor Cortes and Wandy Peralta were on the COVID-19 injured list due to testing positive. General manager Brian Cashman said all three of those individuals were fully vaccinated against the coronavirus.
It's possible, however, that not every Yankees player who could test positive is fully or even partially vaccinated:
Cashman added the players affected by the feared outbreak were "OK" before Thursday's called-off game.
As of early Thursday evening, the Yankees remained scheduled to host the first-place Red Sox on Friday through Sunday pending the results of additional COVID-19 testing.
More must-reads: