NEW YORK -- The Yankees were thrilled to have Phil Nevin back in the dugout for Friday's game against the Red Sox at Yankee Stadium, as the third-base coach continues to recover from dual bouts with COVID-19 and a staph infection that weakened the former big leaguer.

"I feel good, comparatively, to where I've been," Nevin said. "I'm just getting my strength back, my energy. I'm still going through some treatments that will keep me off the field. … I lost 22 pounds in the process, but it's really good to be back and around the guys."

Yankees manager Aaron Boone said that Nevin's return means a great deal to the team's players and coaching staff, and they have missed his fiery go-get-'em attitude over the past several weeks.

"I think he's one of the best third-base coaches in the game and he does a lot with our running game, defensively, giving signs," Boone said. "He brings a ton to the table as well as having a real presence in our room. He's 'The Viking.' We're looking forward to getting him hopefully all the way back to being 'The Viking.'"

Nevin learned that he had contracted COVID-19 as the Yankees were in the air, traveling ahead of a May 11-13 series against the Rays at Tropicana Field. Nevin and several other members of the traveling party were quarantined at a Tampa, Fla., hotel, where they remained as the team went on to Baltimore and Texas.

While most cases were asymptomatic, Nevin experienced fevers that increased throughout the week, eventually prompting an emergency room visit on Day 7 or 8, he said. Nevin felt good enough to go for a 15-minute walk that evening with pitching coach Matt Blake, during which he experienced considerable fatigue.

Unbeknownst to Nevin, a concerned Blake told Tim Lentych, the Yankees' assistant athletic trainer: "Hey, I've only known him for a short time, but there's something else wrong. It doesn't seem right that this would take him down like this."

Blood tests the next morning revealed a bacterial staph infection in Nevin's bloodstream, which doctors believed had been caught early.

"That phone call probably saved us," Nevin said. "A lot of things could have been a lot worse."

The Yankees coaching staff received COVID-19 vaccinations in March and April. As an asthma sufferer, Nevin was concerned about his lungs. He said that he was told by doctors that the vaccine blunted the effects of the virus, which he believes kept his lungs at full function.

"It would probably not have been a very good outcome," Nevin said. "I wasn't an anti-vaxxer, but I just wasn't sure if I would have gotten [the vaccine] if I wasn't in baseball. I would certainly encourage anybody that asked me, I would say to absolutely get it."

Long distance dedication
Nevin said that he had a clause in his Yankees contract that would have permitted him to leave the team for his son Tyler's Major League debut.

Instead, the recovering Nevin had to watch from home as the 24-year-old Orioles first baseman went 1-for-2 against the White Sox on May 29 in Chicago. He played again on May 30 and has since been returned to Triple-A.

"I had a great seat. I was on the couch," Nevin said, his voice quivering as he shed tears. "Not to be able to see him right after the game, that gets you a little bit, because we've been talking about it for so long. To not be there for that, that's something you'll never get back, but I couldn't be prouder of him."

He said it
"I look forward to it every year: getting a chance to play them here at home, getting a chance to play them at Fenway in front of some packed houses. It's always fun. Just the history behind it is something that's really important to us. It's a big one that I circle on the calendar." -- Aaron Judge, on playing the Red Sox

Friday marks the latest in a season that the Yankees have played the Red Sox for the first time since 1996, when they didn't face Boston until July 1 (not including last year's pandemic-shortened season).