CHICAGO -- Rather than take any chances, Cubs manager David Ross and five other Tier 1 individuals opted not to attend Monday's morning workout at Wrigley Field, while awaiting the results of Saturday's COVID-19 tests.

"We've decided to do the prudent thing," Ross said in a statement. "So myself and the five others will not attend this morning’s workout. Out of an abundance of caution, we think it makes sense for the six of us to wait for clarity."

The statement added that "situations like this have not been a worrisome indicator of a positive test result to date." That said, Ross has reiterated numerous times throughout this process that he wants his players and staff to view Wrigley Field as a "safe haven" and to feel at ease about joining the group for workouts.

Five of the tests for the impacted Tier 1 individuals came back negative for COVID-19. The sixth pending test -- not involving Ross or a player -- had been compromised and will have to be taken again by the individual.

Cubs bench coach Andy Green ran Monday's workout, which included pitcher's fielding practice, other fundamentals-based drills and live batting practice sessions. During the workout, a noticeable amount of players were wearing a mask on the field, which is not required, but was still practiced by plenty within the group.

"I know that some of the players are uncomfortable wearing it," Cubs pitcher Yu Darvish said through a translator on Sunday. "But they do wear it, so that's nice to see. I used to wear this all the time in Japan, so I'm very comfortable about this."

The Cubs did not release the names of the other five individuals, but Tier 1 includes players, the manager, coaches, bullpen catchers, team physicians, head and assistant athletic trainers, physical therapists and strength and conditioning coaches. To date, the Cubs have had no positive COVID-19 tests within their player group.

"The virus is the only thing in control right now," Cubs president of baseball operations Theo Epstein said on Friday. "We're taking every safeguard that we possibly can, and I'm proud of the way the players have been responding, but we can't let our guard down and we can't fool ourselves into thinking we can control all the variables here."

The Cubs noted that the majority of their test results from Saturday were in hand prior to the morning workout on Monday, with only the six requiring more clarity. The Cubs previously pushed two workout times back while awaiting results.

Epstein said Friday that the testing process has been improving as all parties involved adjust to the routine, protocols and process.

"It would've been naive to expect there to be no learning curve whatsoever," Epstein said. "But to Major League Baseball's credit and to the players' credit, because they were very involved in the solutions as well, they took ownership of the problem, restructured a few things, created some backups when it comes to the shipping and a much better rhythm has developed.

"There's a bit of a tradeoff sometimes between timing and accuracy, and we would prefer accuracy," he added. "All in all, I think we're getting towards a really good place with the testing program and I think everyone's taking it seriously."

Worth noting
• Cubs pitchers combined for 26 strikeouts in Sunday’s intrasquad game, which lasted 6 1/2 innings. The group in that game included Jon Lester (four strikeouts), Casey Sadler (five), Dan Winkler (one), Ryan Tepera (two), Duane Underwood Jr. (six), Rex Brothers (three), Rowan Wick (three) and James Norwood (two).

“I really liked the way guys are attacking,” Cubs pitching coach Tommy Hottovy said. “And what we’re trying to work on now, more and more you’ll see, I think is just putting guys in situations where they’re coming in with runners on base and we’re going to continue to do some simulated innings.”

• Underwood is now displaying a tighter, sharper curveball after switching to a spike-curve grip -- a change the righty was working on last season. Hottovy raved about the progress that Underwood has made with that breaking ball, which could help further unlock his potential.

“[He] took a weakness and has turned it into a real weapon at the Major League level,” Hottovy said. “Part of pitching is also having a full repertoire and being able to do different things with the baseball. And again, credit to him to not give up on that pitch, because I think we've all seen how it's developed.”

• After a lighter workout on Monday morning, the Cubs will return to playing an intrasquad game on Tuesday night. Right-handers Yu Darvish and Kyle Hendricks are among those scheduled to pitch.

• Lester logged 2 1/3 innings in Sunday’s intrasquad game. Hottovy said the goal will be to have the veteran lefty able to work five innings by Opening Day, but noted that he is more focused on pitch volume and Lester’s feedback than an innings target, specifically.

Quotable
“I don't think that I'm at-risk inside of the ballpark, because I think the Cubs have been doing the best they can to keep us safe in here. ... I don't have any concerns about my teammates, because I trust them. I know we all are doing our best to keep us safe. That way, we can have a season this year.” -- Willson Contreras