Yaz relieved to rejoin Giants off COVID-19 IL

LOS ANGELES – Ten days after testing positive for COVID-19, Mike Yastrzemski was cleared to rejoin the Giants, starting in center field and batting sixth in Wednesday night’s series finale against the Dodgers at Dodger Stadium.

Yastrzemski, sporting a fresh mustache in honor of Mustache May, returned to the lineup after missing eight games and described the entire ordeal as “less than ideal.” He spent six days quarantining in a hotel room in Washington, D.C., where he tested positive prior to the Giants’ series finale at Nationals Park on April 24.

Once his symptoms cleared up, Yastrzemski – following Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines – flew back to San Francisco and checked into the team hotel across the street from Oracle Park until his 10-day isolation period came to an end on Wednesday, enabling him to make the trip to Los Angeles.

“Not fun,” Yastrzemski said. “When you’re sitting in a hotel room by yourself watching your teammates play and work and do everything they can, it’s just not a fun place to be. Very vulnerable. Being away from family is awful. I definitely missed my wife and daughter. That was the toughest pill to swallow, for sure.”

Yastrzemski, who is vaccinated and boosted, said he initially had no inkling he had contracted the coronavirus. He began to experience a sore throat and congestion in Washington and figured he might be dealing with allergies or a cold after playing through frigid conditions in Cleveland last month.

“I really didn’t feel that bad at the time,” Yastrzemski said. “That was definitely the last thing on my mind. [Manager Gabe Kapler] was checking on me, asking how I was feeling. I was like, ‘When this test comes back negative, I’m ready to go.’ And it did not come back negative. The rest was history from there.”

Yastrzemski tried to remain active once he got past the worst of his symptoms, throwing weighted balls into pillows in his hotel room and eventually taking swings at foam balls and balled up socks.

“It must have been really hard for Yaz,” Kapler said. “Nobody wants to be sitting in a hotel room while your team is off in another city and you’re like watching the games on television and feeling like you can really contribute. It must be a major challenge for these players.”

Under Major League Baseball’s protocols, players can break their 10-day isolation period early if they return two negative PCR tests more than 24 hours apart. Yastrzmeski became eligible to test on Friday, but he didn’t get the results he was hoping for, forcing him to sit out for the entire 10 days.

“That was the most frustrating part because I was feeling ready to go and feeling completely fine,” Yastrzemski said. “The tests just weren’t following up and coming back as we’d hoped. That also just prolonged seeing my family, which was more frustrating than anything.”

Yastrzemski became the first of five Giants players to test positive for COVID-19. Brandon Belt, Zack Littell, Dominic Leone and Steven Duggar also contracted the virus and remain shelved, leaving the Giants significantly shorthanded in recent days.

“Just bummed,” Yastrzemski said. “Feeling helpless is the worst feeling in that situation. Because you want to do something but you can’t. The best thing you can do is to take care of yourself and that’s really hard to do in those times.”

The Giants are moving closer to getting back to full strength, though. Littell’s 10-day isolation period is expected to expire on Friday, and Belt and Leone will be eligible to be reinstated off the COVID-19 IL on Monday.