Reds work out in KC: 'We move forward'

After missing four days and three games because of the positive COVID-19 test of one of their players, the Reds were thrilled to be back at a ballpark on Tuesday. The club flew to Kansas City in the morning and held a workout at Kauffman Stadium in the early evening.

“Obviously, a lot of concern and just making sure that we got all of our testing done each day and we got the negative results each night,” Reds manager David Bell said. “We’ve been definitely anxious about that. We’re here. We’re in Kansas City and working out today, and we move forward.”

Major League Baseball announced that series opener vs. the Royals scheduled for Tuesday was postponed “out of an abundance of caution and to allow for additional testing.” The two-game series instead will be played on one day -- a doubleheader Wednesday that begins at 5:05 p.m. ET. Both games will be seven innings.

“I do think by not playing today, I think that made a lot of sense,” Bell said. “These high-performance athletes, you’re going at it every single day and all of a sudden, you don’t do anything for three days. It changes everything. In order to get back out today and have a workout, I think it was a great decision. Over the three days, there wasn’t really anything we could do.”

Luis Castillo is scheduled to start Game 1 for the Reds, with Trevor Bauer slated for Game 2. Castillo was scheduled to pitch on Tuesday but doesn’t feel the delay would be an issue.

Along with Sonny Gray and some others, Castillo and Bauer were able to do some throwing and running outside at Xavier University on Monday.

“It goes back to being prepared mentally,” Castillo said Tuesday, via translator Jorge Merlos. “Obviously, things have changed from yesterday to today. Obviously, I’m starting tomorrow. But it’s all part of the mental preparation that I have to have each and every day. As of right now, we’re here in Kansas City. We’re here at the ballpark, so we’re going to go out there, try to train as best as we can today, and continue.”

Bauer last pitched on Aug. 7, at Milwaukee, giving him 11 days of rest.

“I don’t know if I’ve ever done that before, honestly,” Bauer said. “Hopefully, the work I normally put in has truly kind of taken hold and I’ll be able to throw the ball in the zone. Generally speaking, the biggest issue with delays and time between when I pitch is that I don’t command the ball as well as I normally do on a normal routine.”

On Friday, during the ninth inning of the Reds’ 8-1 victory over the Pirates at Great American Ball Park, the team learned that one of its players tested positive for COVID-19.

“I found out between the second-to-last pitch and the last pitch of the game,” Bell said. “We’re a close team, we’re a family and everyone is dealing with this pandemic. So when it hits or anything that you think could hit close to home, it’s going to be very concerning. We care about one another.”

All players and staff underwent testing and contact tracing on Saturday and Sunday. Catcher Tucker Barnhart had his wife and two young children return home to Indianapolis to lessen their risk of contracting the virus.

“You’re anxiously awaiting the test results we were getting nightly -- it’s a little stressful," said Barnhart. "I did everything I’m supposed to do, but everything about this virus -- you can get do everything you’re supposed to do, and you can still contract it somehow.”

Some players on the roster were not yet cleared to fly with the club.

“We’re hopeful that we’ll get most if not everyone cleared by [Wednesday],” Bell said. “There’s still a few guys that had to go through some additional testing and protocol in order to be cleared, based on the research and investigation on who needed to be looked at closely.”

The team plans to announce roster moves on Wednesday. Second baseman Mike Moustakas is expected to be activated from the 10-day injured list. Moustakas, the former Royals star, hasn’t played since Aug. 4 because of a bruised left quadriceps muscle. He was able to work out at the team’s alternate training site on Monday.