CHICAGO -- Reinforcements are coming soon for the Red Sox. The club’s COVID-19 outbreak -- at least for now -- appears to be contained and the players affected are getting closer to coming back. (UPDATE: Chris Sale tested positive for the virus and will be placed on the COVID-19 injured list Friday.)
Overall, the Red Sox placed 11 players on the COVID-19 injured list due to a variety of issues, including positive tests, close contacts, symptoms and testing irregularities. Three players -- Josh Taylor, Kiké Hernández and Danny Santana -- have been activated, while eight remain unavailable. It is expected that many of the remaining players will rejoin the club this weekend in Chicago; who the club chooses to activate remains to be seen. Here’s where things currently stand:
So when is everyone coming back?
Before Wednesday’s win over the Rays, manager Alex Cora gave a series of updates on those still on the COVID-19 IL:
* Infielder Christian Arroyo (positive test on Aug. 29) ended his quarantine period in Cleveland and was in Boston as of Wednesday. Arroyo dealt with significant symptoms and needs to attend a series of doctor’s appointments before he is cleared to play.
“He got hit pretty hard,” Cora said. “It was kind of like Kiké, but with a few extra days. We’ll see where we go with that.”
* Left-hander Martín Pérez (positive test on Aug. 30) was on his way to Boston as of Wednesday, which suggests he is close to being cleared. He was set to go through the intake process in Boston on Wednesday with Cora noting the club would see where he was at physically before making any decisions.
* The four players who have been quarantining in St. Petersburg, Fla. -- relievers Matt Barnes and Hirokazu Sawamura and infielders Xander Bogaerts and Yairo Muñoz -- are expected to fly to Chicago to meet the Red Sox on Thursday night. All four players tested positive between Aug. 30 and Sept. 1.
Each player’s vaccination status -- as well as their level of symptoms -- could contribute to when they can be activated off the IL. The Red Sox are -- obviously -- looking at things on a case-by-case basis.
“We have to make decisions based on how they feel, where they’re at physically and go from there,” Cora said. “It’s not going to be easy”
* Starter Nick Pivetta (positive test on Sept. 5) still might take his turn in the rotation Saturday against the White Sox, though the club is listing the Saturday starter as “TBD” for now. Because Pivetta is vaccinated, he can be activated from the COVID-19 IL earlier than 10 days after his positive test as long as symptoms have subsided.
As WEEI’s Rob Bradford confirmed last week, “players testing positive are generally out for 10 days. There have been instances where MLB medical experts have cleared for earlier return if vaccinated, deeming them not to be infectious.”
If Pivetta is not available, righty Kutter Crawford could be in line to make his second start. The Sox could also have a bullpen day.
* Outfielder Jarren Duran (positive test on Sept. 3) remains in Boston but is farther away from joining the club because he registered a positive test later than everyone else.
What happens when players are cleared? Do they need to go on rehab assignments?
It depends. Again, the Red Sox plan to treat every player individually based on how much time each one missed and if they experienced symptoms or not.
“We’ll sit down as a group and go from there,” Cora said. “Maybe some of them, they just need to throw one bullpen or two bullpens and do that. Others — in the case of (Bogaerts), probably, he doesn’t need much. He has probably been doing a lot of sit-ups and push-ups. He should be physically okay. I think it’s just talking about it and going from there. It’s not easy… it’s not an easy decision because we want these guys to be right. That’s the most important thing.”
Hernández, who missed 11 games and spent the vast majority of that time quarantining in a Cleveland hotel room, played as soon as he was cleared and went 0-for-5 in his first game back Tuesday night.
Who will lose their roster spots?
Muñoz will almost certainly rejoin the WooSox, so the Sox really only need to clear seven spots, assuming they want Duran back in the majors (he had been optioned then called back up the week before testing positive). Some of the candidates to be cut from the active roster are obvious.
Pitchers Michael Feliz, Stephen Gonsalves and Brad Peacock are easy cuts for the pitchers who need to return, with Phillips Valdez also likely being optioned when the club is at full strength. With Darwinzon Hernandez (right oblique strain) also due back soon, Boston could cut another pitcher. The Red Sox are currently carrying 15 pitchers on their 28-man roster.
On the position player side, things are a bit more crowded. Jonathan Araúz will most certainly be optioned, and José Iglesias -- who was just brought back earlier in the week -- might not be long for the roster once the Sox are at full strength. At that point, the Red Sox would likely have to decide between optioning Duran and designating Santana for assignment.
From a 40-man perspective, it’s complicated. Players on the COVID-19 IL don’t count against the 40-man roster, so the Red Sox are at 39 players while needing to add back seven players (Muñoz wasn’t on the 40-man before being called up when the outbreak started). Really, the club needs to clear just five spots because they have one open and need to add six players back. Feliz, Gonsalves and Peacock are virtual locks to lose their spots; Iglesias is likely in the same boat with Santana serving as another candidate.
Cutting a player from the 40-man roster won’t necessarily mean the Red Sox will need to expose him to waivers or designate him for assignment as usual. If a player replaced someone on the COVID-19 IL, he can simply be sent back to Triple-A with no consequences. Because so many moves have been made, it’s not crystal clear which players fall into that category.
Related links:
Boston Red Sox standings update: Win over Rays puts Sox back in first wild-card spot over Yankees
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