This evening’s game between the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox was postponed due to a COVID-19 issue within the Yankees team.
The Yankees, who put relief pitcher Jonathan Loaisiga on the COVID IL last weekend and added fellow relievers Wandy Peralta and Nestor Cortes Jr. to the list today, apparently have three more presumed positives. General manager Brian Cashman confirmed this news to reporters earlier.
According to ESPN’s Buster Olney, the three other positive tests are star right fielder Aaron Judge, starting third baseman Gio Urshela and backup catcher Kyle Higashioka. Judge participated in the MLB All-Star Game in Denver on Tuesday night, which isn’t great news for the league in terms of potential contact tracing.
The Yankees have yet to confirm that these are the three players in COVID-19 protocols.
The three other Yankees position players who are in COVID-19 protocol are Aaron Judge, Kyle Higashioka, and Gio Urshela. Because Judge was at the All-Star Game with other players, this has triggered contact tracing questions for the Red Sox players (and presumably others).
— Buster Olney (@Buster_ESPN) July 15, 2021
Obviously, this is bad news for the Yankees from an on-field standpoint, considering Judge has been the team’s best player in an up-and-down season, and Urshela is a reliable everyday player. Higashioka has also been the personal catcher for staff ace Gerrit Cole.
According to Jared Diamond of the Wall Street Journal, all of the players who have tested positive, including one who is unvaccinated, are asymptomatic, which is good news. The Yankees surpassed MLB’s 85% vaccination threshold earlier this season, but apparently that hasn’t helped them in this situation.
The Yankees and Red Sox are scheduled to play games each of the next three nights, though we’re waiting to see what MLB has planned considering the circumstances.
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