In a year where staying healthy is vital, it seems almost certain that the Pirates will start the regular season without Gregory Polanco or Keone Kela.
Friday afternoon at PNC Park, Derek Shelton confirmed that Polanco, who has been absent from the field since Tuesday, has tested positive for COVID-19. Additionally, the Pirates have placed Kela on the 10-day injured list.
Per the Pirates' transactions page, the Kela move was made Thursday. Kela has not joined the Pirates on the field yet during summer camp, and the club has not disclosed why.
Major League Baseball teams will not reveal any details about players’ health information in 2020 unless that player consents.
There is no timetable for either player to return. Shelton could not disclose when Polanco tested positive for the virus, though he had been working out with the team as recently as Monday.
"I cannot speak highly enough about how Gregory went about it," Shelton said during a Zoom call Friday. "He protected his teammates because he put himself in a conversation where you let us know through the protocols and the testing. He was not around anybody else. And because of that, with getting a test and finding out that that he was positive, I think it speaks to the testament of everything that we've talked about of how good a teammate he is.
"Unfortunately, he has tested positive, but I think this is exemplary in terms of how you handle it and, in terms of being a teammate and and not putting himself around other guys."
Polanco will need to test negative for COVID-19 on two consecutive tests before he returns to the field. There has not been any discussion of placing him on the injured list, though Shelton anticipates having that conversation with general manager Ben Cherington Friday afternoon.
On Friday, Major League Baseball and the players association jointly announced that there were six individuals newly tested for COVID-19 in their last batch of testing, five of which were players. Polanco is on of those five. In total, 80 players and 13 staff members have tested positive since the beginning of intake screening on June 27.
Polanco is the third Pirates player to share their positive COVID-19 tests. Relief prospect Blake Cederlind and outfielder Socrates Brito are the others. Brito returned to the field this week, and now has a much-better chance of making the opening day roster since he is one of only four active outfielders still in the summer camp at PNC Park.
The other outfielders in camp are Bryan Reynolds, Jarrod Dyson and Guillermo Heredia. Heredia has been in right field in Polanco's absence. Jason Martin is also on the 40-man roster, but he has been working out in the team's alternate camp in Altoona, Pa..
It seems probable that the Pirates will call up an outfielder from the Altoona camp ahead of their exhibition with the Indians Saturday night.
"I would assume we would probably have at least someone up here tomorrow, just for a backup situation in that game," Shelton said. "We haven't finalized who that would be."
Utility players Jose Osuna and JT Riddle could also see time in the outfield.
Ke'Bryan Hayes has also been absent from camp, with the club not giving a reason why.
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