2nd NYY Minor Leaguer positive for COVID-19

TAMPA, Fla. -- A second Yankees Minor League player from the team’s player development complex has tested positive for the COVID-19 virus, the team announced on Tuesday.

The team said that while under self-quarantine, the player reported fatigue and an elevated body temperature to Yankees medical personnel. A test was administered on Sunday, and the player returned to self-quarantine following the positive results. The player’s symptoms have dissipated within the past 48 hours, according to the team.

“I think we all are going to experience someone that you personally know or professionally know that might have [COVID-19] or will be undergoing testing for that,” Yankees general manager Brian Cashman said earlier this week.

To date, both confirmed cases of the coronavirus to touch the Major League Baseball world have been in the Yankees organization. Cashman confirmed on Sunday that one of the organization’s younger players had tested positive for COVID-19. The team said that the player had never visited Steinbrenner Field nor had any link to the players in Major League camp. That player’s symptoms are said to be resolving as well.

“You feel for him and his teammates and the organization,” Yankees pitcher J.A. Happ said on Tuesday. “You hope that could be an isolated thing, but you just don't know. From what I've heard, he hasn't been on this [Major League] side at all. So maybe there's a chance it won't spread here.”

As a result of the first positive test, the Hillsborough County (Fla.) Department of Health recommended that all Yankees Minor Leaguers be self-quarantined in their Tampa, Fla., apartments or hotel rooms until March 25, along with some coaches and staff members. The team is providing boxed meals and advising players to follow practices of social distancing and washing hands frequently.

The team’s player development complex, which is located about a mile from Steinbrenner Field, has undergone numerous rounds of cleaning treatment with a bleach-like mist, conducted by an outside firm. The complex is closed until March 25.

“We’re trying to do right by the public,” Cashman said. “We have to apply the best practices and follow the directives of the Department of Health. We're certainly going to comply with that to the best of our abilities.”