Did Red Sox break MLB’s COVID protocol? Depends on who you ask (UPDATE)

Boston Red Sox manager Alex Cora has seen his roster decimated by COVID-19.
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UPDATE (11:29 a.m.): Red Sox ace Chris Sale tested positive for COVID-19. Read more about that here.

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The Boston Red Sox enter play Friday with a one-game lead over the New York Yankees in the American League wild-card race.

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What makes that so impressive is the fact that as of Thursday, the Red Sox have had nine people with the team test positive for the coronavirus, with 11 others sidelined due to symptoms or close contact with positive cases.

And depending on who you ask, those numbers could have been much worse.

According to the Boston Globe, right fielder Hunter Renfroe “claims Major League Baseball told the team to stop following COVID-19 protocols amid the outbreak engulfing the clubhouse.”

“MLB basically told us to stop the testing and just treat the symptoms,” Renfroe told WEEI’s “Merloni and Fauria” show on Thursday. ... After Renfroe finished his sentence, Lou Merloni sought to clarify, asking, “MLB asked you to stop testing?”

“Yes,” Renfroe replied.

However the Red Sox front office is telling a different story. Per ESPN:

“We have been following MLB’s COVID-19 protocols all season long,” the team said in a statement. “We have consulted closely with them on everything we’ve done and continue to test and their medical staff has been very supportive.”

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According to ESPN, “The Red Sox are under the 85% vaccination threshold in their clubhouse, although some of the players who tested positive are vaccinated.”

Among those sidelined are All-Star shortstop Xander Bogaerts and All-Star closer Matt Barnes. Boston hopes to get some reinforcements back as it begins a six-game road trip Friday by visiting the Chicago White Sox.

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Mike Rosenstein may be reached at mrosenstein@njadvancemedia.com.

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