Dickerson on false positive: 'Very stressful'

Giants outfielder Alex Dickerson was getting ready to face the Padres in his hometown of San Diego on Friday night when he received distressing news. Shortly before first pitch, Major League Baseball informed the Giants that Dickerson’s saliva test from Thursday had come back positive for COVID-19, setting off a harrowing weekend for the 30-year-old outfielder.

Players on both teams were told they wouldn’t be playing on Friday, and the game scheduled for Saturday was later postponed, as well. Dickerson was immediately placed in an isolation room at Petco Park and administered a rapid test, which came back negative.

“It came as a complete shock,” Dickerson said. “At no point did I ever actually believe it was real. We did take it very seriously, and both teams did what we needed to do. We followed all protocol there. We assumed it was real, but at no point did I actually believe it.”

Dickerson and the Giants were cleared to return to action after the MLB-MLBPA Joint Committee determined that “the presumptive positive did not represent an actual infection or present a risk to other personnel.”

The Giants and Padres returned with a doubleheader at Petco Park on Sunday and will make up another game on a later date.

Dickerson said he hardly slept over the past 48 hours, as he had the health of his growing family on his mind during the entire ordeal. His wife, Jennifer, is 39 weeks pregnant with the couple’s first child, a boy, and was staying with Dickerson at the team hotel this weekend. She tested negative earlier this month and has been on bed rest, interacting only with her mother, who also tested negative.

Still, a published report incorrectly suggested that Dickerson broke health and safety protocols upon landing in San Diego on Thursday.

“I do want to bring to light the fact that false reporting did happen in my situation, and it had extremely negative effects on me and my family,” said Dickerson, who became emotional while speaking with reporters. “Specifically, a report from USA Today saying that the player who remains unidentified told several members of the Giants’ traveling party that he believed he was possibly infected by a family member or friend in San Diego. It’s completely false.

“Those kind of statements lead to a steamrolling effect that caused my wife, who is 39 weeks pregnant, to deal with a lot of stuff that she did not deserve to deal with. It was not easy. … A lot of hate can come toward you, and it was kind of unwarranted.”

Dickerson said he feared the stress would cause his wife to go into labor over the weekend. The couple went to UC San Diego Medical Center to undergo further testing, which all came back negative. The Giants also conducted two rounds of tests on their entire traveling party before they received clearance from MLB to carry on with the doubleheader on Sunday.

Dickerson said the false positive could complicate his efforts to attend the birth of his child, as MLB and hospitals have enacted strict rules to protect patients during the pandemic. He hopes to be there, but he and his wife are still trying to sort through the logistics and brace for the unexpected.

“You can’t really prepare for it,” Dickerson said of this weekend’s events. “You deal with it. It was very stressful. I didn’t sleep much. That’s the year we’re having. A lot of people have it very tough right now. It’s where you find out how to get through things.”

Worth noting
• Kevin Gausman was scheduled to start Game 2 of the doubleheader on Sunday, but the Giants scratched the 29-year-old right-hander because of right elbow tightness. Manager Gabe Kapler said Gausman felt tightness while playing catch several days ago and will undergo an MRI exam.

“We felt a high degree of comfort in still keeping him set up to make his start and were prepared to do so,” Kapler said. “When he woke up today, he had a little tightness. We wanted to make sure he’s OK.”

• The Giants placed reliever Trevor Gott on the 10-day injured list with right elbow inflammation and recalled right-hander Rico Garcia from the alternate training site. Gott dealt with an elbow issue last September, as well, though Kapler said he’s confident the 28-year-old right-hander still has enough time to return before the end of the season.

• The Giants added infielder Daniel Robertson to their roster as the 29th man for both games of the doubleheader.