AUGUST 3: Montgomery has also tested positive for the virus, general manager Brian Cashman said on WFAN Sports Radio (h/t to Erik Boland of Newsday). That’ll leave the Yankees quite shorthanded on the starting staff over the next week and a half.
AUGUST 2: Yankees ace Gerrit Cole had been scheduled to start tomorrow’s game against the Orioles but won’t take the mound after testing positive for Covid-19, manager Aaron Boone announced to reporters this evening (Twitter link via Tyler Kepner of the New York Times). Boone also revealed that third baseman Gio Urshela is headed to the 10-day injured list due to a hamstring strain.
Cole will presumably be placed on the Covid-19 injured list and, as a player who tested positive, be subject to a quarantine period of at least 10 days, as is stipulated in Major League Baseball’s health and safety protocols for the 2021 season. Boone added that “as of now,” Cole is the only new positive on the Yankees’ roster. Nestor Cortes Jr. is “likely” to get the start in Cole’s place, although the team has yet to make any firm determinations on how they’ll proceed with the rotation.
With Cole subtracted from the rotation mix for the foreseeable future, the Yankees will likely rely on a combination of Jameson Taillon, Jordan Montgomery, newly acquired Andrew Heaney and the aforementioned Cortes to start games. Domingo German recently went on the injured list due to some shoulder inflammation, and Michael King was recently moved to the 60-day IL because of a finger injury.
Meanwhile, the Yankees are still waiting on the likes of Corey Kluber, Luis Severino and Clarke Schmidt to mend from their own injuries. Severino was cleared last week to head out on a minor league rehab assignment, and Schmidt has already made one minor league rehab start. Both figure to need a couple weeks worth of rehab stints before they’re options, however.
As for Urshela, his absence will also prove costly. He’s enjoying another solid all-around year in the Bronx, batting .274/.315/.439 with 11 home runs in 330 plate appearances and his typical brand of plus defense at the hot corner. Tyler Wade and the versatile DJ LeMahieu can step in at the hot corner for now, and depending on the length of Urshela’s absence and the yet-unclear timeline of the also-injured Miguel Andujar, the it’s possible Andujar could eventually surface as another option. He’s been out since July 10 thanks to a sprained wrist, however, and it’s not yet clear just when he’ll head out on a rehab assignment.
Rotten luck for the Yankees, hope he’s feeling alright and isn’t dealing with any symptoms of COVID
But is he vaccinated?
Bet he’s not!
@pasha2k- does it really matter? People that get vaccinated, still can get Covid.
It matters that 90% of hospitalizations are non-vaccinated folks
Which isn’t really relevant to this situation. Cole is on the dl even if he shows no symptoms if he has tested positive. And the amount of young fit healthy folks who have been hospitalized even before the vax is a rounding error anyway. The Yankees wild card chances are in much worse shape than Cole will ever be
And? If you are vaccinated it shouldn’t concern you.
Much harder to get it n yeah it means he’s not taking care of his 30ml body.
True
Less than .01% of vaccinated get infected. If he didn’t get vaxxed and got infected, it’s his fault. Shame on any team putting up with selfish players who won’t get vaxxed.
Looking at Israel, who has always been a couple months ahead of us, shows that the vax is only 39% effective at preventing infection from delta but it is over 90% effective at the important part of keeping you out of the hospital.
Impossible to say Cole was being negligent here without fully knowing his full life activities.
forbes.com/sites/roberthart/2021/07/23/pfizer-shot…
“Less than .01% of vaccinated get infected.” That’s dangerously wrong. Vaccinated people are very, very unlikely to get serious, life-threatening symptoms. But vaccinated people are still quite able to get infected, test positive, and transmit the disease.
.01? The whole freaking yankees team has had it since they ve been vaccinated. This entire thing is a joke.
99.5 percent of current Covid related deaths are unvaccinated people. Yes it matters.
Cite your sources
Yes he is. It’s still possible to get you just have less severe symptoms. Both Cole and Montgomery are vaccinated
Yankees need to stop using the J&J vaccine
Now he’s really crying.
Woman weaken legs!
You’re gonna eat lightning, and you’re gonna crap thunder!
Saw Cole, Judge and Stanton having an up-close discussion with Mattingly, a day before he was positive. Stanton gave Mattingly a big hug. Judge is the common denominator.
I rather have Mattingly as manager than Yanks brass puppet Boone
Yes, I agree. Mattingly should’ve taken the helm from Joe Torre, although I did like Girardi also. Boone is a good manager for the players in terms of their perceived support, but I think Mattingly is awesome. Donnie baseball back in pinstripes is just right …
Mattingly was a terrible manager for the Dodgers. He was a great player, but great players don’t always make good managers. His philosophy was that the team needed to rely on players like him, and that the “little guys” weren’t important.
He was terrible with the younger players, too – no idea how to get the best from them, and certainly adversely affected a few careers. Pretty much the opposite of Tommy Lasorda, who made the rookies feel and play like superstars.
He probably is better now.
What happened with the Marlins last year is largely the product of luck. There’s a chance Mattingly is still awful with Miami too.
Anyone who was in Marlins stadium last weekend probably has covid.
Obligatory “I guess that means no one” comment
T’s and P’s for Cole during this difficult time.
not sure how tots and pears will help, but okay.
Pears for the fiber and Tots for the starches, of course…
Maybe he needs a break, Cortez has been better than Cole as of late.
The beat goes on. And so does the virus.
happy that we don’t have to face him as an O’s fan but hoping for a speedy recovery
I’m amazed that ballplayers get 10 days off and can play again. Have any of them been hospitalized? None have died (that I know of).
That makes me wonder if everyone were in as good shape as athletes, would we have had as many deaths?
Considering something like three quarters of those hospitalized have been overweight to obese, the answer is a clear no.
I really hope this pandemic fuels a desire for people to start taking better care of themselves. I won’t hold my breath.
Considering 36.2% of the US population is obese and another 32.5% of the US population is overweight, about 68.7% of the people who are struck by lighting, are attacked by raccoons or are in car accidents are also obese or overweight.
Maybe more because obese people present a bigger target. 😉
Yeah, let’s pretend that being unhealthy has no relation here. Enjoy.
BMI between 25 and 30 is overweight, BMI over 30 is obese. I’ve been taking heck here for pointing out how those BMI are associated with higher injury rates in athletes. Most of the yankee players have BMI between 25 and 30 and they have a high injury rate. Fortunately, those BMI categories don’t so easily carry over to COVID. That’s a much different thing than a pulled hamstring or a strained calf.
Time on IL depends on the severity of the symptoms. If they’re minor, then he should be fine after 10 days (so long as he tests negative and can’t infect others). If more severe, he may be out longer because he’ll need to get back in game shape and make sure he’s sharp. He can’t work out with the team while quarantined. He may never be hospitalized but still may be out for a couple of weeks.
In the spring of 2020 Freddie Freeman felt the sickest he’s ever been and like he was dying (according to his wife). I don’t know if he was ever hospitalized.
When the season started, there he was. When the season ended, he was MVP. Make of it what you will.
If everyone were as young as MLB players, we certainly wouldn’t have had as many deaths. (But for everyone to be that young, I guess all the older people would have had to die of something, so . . . ) But the risk of dying of covid for someone under 50 (or under 60) is very, very, very, very small.
Probabilities are not much comfort when someone young does die from COVID.
Hippyripper wrote that paragraph in that way to give a certain effect. It is fine.
I don’t think Eduardo Rodriguez was in-patient hospitalized, but he wasn’t even able to walk for months with his resultant heart problems and said he felt a hundred years old.
There’s only about a thousand players in MLB, so even if every one of them caught COVID the odds would be against a death in their age range with their lack of contributing conditions (most of those conditions make it really hard to be a world-class athlete).
Surely, undoubtedly, inarguably, these are the ripple effects of notoriously unvaccinated Anthony Rizzo at work. All is going according to the Chaim Bloom’s master plan >:)
Conspiracy theorist much?
lmao JDM’s an anti-vaxxer too i’m just playin
Rough year for Cole. Hope he’s fine on this front though.
They must have cranked up the sensitivity on those PCR tests…
When you have a headache for two weeks straight and wake up feeling like crap and don’t even know your sick cause you feel the same you do everyday and the doctor refuses your entrance for your appointment cause you have a 101.7 degree fever and you didn’t even notice cause that’s how you feel everyday, that’s how you know your actually living life
Punctuation. You need punctuation
Hippyripper wrote that paragraph in that way to give a certain effect. It is fine.
So do you.
Hopefully Cole is doing fine. We are all on the same side vs Covid
I don’t believe that.
Thots and Players
No, those of us who have been responsible for ourselves and others and got vaccinated are not on the “same side” as the unvaccinated…It is unbelievably stupid for anyone to not get vaccinated. Cole has the benefit of a college education, responsibility to his team, and his personal health and financial interests and still, evidently, has decided to forego the vaccine. just wow…
Im 66. Got vaccinated in February. There was no problems. Felt great. I still wear a mask out. Because of my age.
Is it an n95? Otherwise, pointless to wear a mask.
Dude, relax… If you’re vaccinated that is all that matters, let nature take it’s course with the unvaccinated
Yeah I don’t want nature taking its course with my children whom are too young to be vaccinated.
The number of kids who have died from COVID-19 is miniscule. It’s old, fat people with preexisting conditions that need to worry most. Very little to worry about for your youngsters.
I like how whether you die or not is the prevailing thought process. I’ve been hit by cars three times, twice as a pedestrian and once on a bike. I’m still alive. Doesn’t mean I’m not going to worry about getting hit by cars. Yeesh.
One of those was stitches around my torn up mouth, and a concussion. Went running three days later and raced a 10k four weeks later. Easy peasy. Right?
But here’s the thing. I can’t make someone else get hit by a car just by hanging out with me. And there’s the whole crux of the problem. I don’t want to give anyone COVID. Not anyone. Understand?
Who Will They Call Up To Take His Place,Deivi Garcia?
Deivi Garcia is just plain awful at Scranton this year, he doesn’t deserve a promotion. Should give Koerner a chance even though he’s not on the 40 man roster. Sending Otto to Texas was a mistake, he looked good at Somerset, looked to have potential for back end of rotation or long relief.
I wonder if a deal with the Mets for Jerod Eickhoff is an option
Just pick him up after his next DFA
Maybe they can make a deal with the Mets for Jerod Eickhoff. 😉
At some point MLB is going to need to come to the realization that COVID is here to stay and that quarantine periods are going to become ridiculous — unless the case warrants something like a hospitalization — for a virus with an absurdly low mortality rate for those under the age of 55 and without multiple co-morbidities. COVID is here to stay seeing how it’s a coronavirus, one with the same lethality as the seasonal flu amongst younger populations. If Cole isn’t knocking on deaths door then there’s zero reason to keep him off the field in a sport that allows for natural distancing with a virus that doesn’t spread via surface transmission.
I agree about player-to-player transmission but shouldn’t there also be some concern about managers, coaches and other staff? Several managers including Aaron Boone and Davey Martinez have had coronary issues during the past year. I don’t pretend to be a doctor but can only guess that their families are pretty concerned about exposure to players that have tested positive.
There’s always going to be nuances to every situation. I’m not saying there’s a perfect, blanket policy that will cover every individual interaction within the sport, but there’s clearly shortcomings in the current way of handling positive tests. Those shortcomings will only be more egregiously stupid as time goes on with all the knowledge we have about this virus. At some point, one is responsible for their own health and well-being and we cannot continually baby this situation for years without an end in sight.
As for the families worries and such, that is fine….they have every right to be worried, because we’re human. But we need to start making data driven decisions, and this virus has a .04% mortality rate for those under 65 and without multiple, serious co-morbidities. That doesn’t justify a level of panic that should to decisions of indefinite masking, quarantining, and canceling of games. The show must go on.
Well Said!
come on, man. just say it, make vaccination mandatory for everyone working for MLB. everyone else should go home…
You really are an idiot. Cole was vaccinated. Montgomery was vaccinated. Nevin was vaccinated when he tested positive and COVID knocked him on his ass for nearly a month. You have a very cartoonish view of this whole thing, and would do yourself and everyone a else a service by refraining from expressing it.
Can you imagine the nightmare that will caused if this happens during the playoffs? “So and so is unable to pitch game 7 because he tested positive”.
That is why you have to be healthy ,as a staff, and have depth!
Polio and smallpox weren’t here to stay.
Polio and smallpox existed for thousands of years.
“Polio and smallpox existed for thousands of years.”
And then what happened?
Polio and smallpox also had mortality rates that hovered around 30% AND —most importantly— vaccines that kept you from getting after you were “vaccinated.” So the risk-reward of getting a functioning inoculation was a no brainer. COVID on the other hand….*Kanye shrug*
Smallpox and Polio vaccines were mandatory.
The only reason people who have been vaccinated are getting it is because of those who haven’t. It will keep mutating until it doesn’t have a large population of hosts. It’s really not that hard to figure out.
Really?
The vaccine was never intended or expected to stop the virus, it is to build up our immunity to the virus so that the next strain that comes along, we’ll have some baseline to fight it…
This thing is here for the long haul like the flu and common cold… And like the flu, will get yearly boosters against the common strains and a chance to still catch it but with far less severe symptoms.
We have built up a total immunity over centuries, wait till we do for COVID
Polio and smallpox also don’t mutate as rapidly as other viruses.
And, do some research, the smallpox vaccine was actually quite deadly when it was first introduced… So it took some tweaking and time to gain public trust.
@Wtf also check out the 1905 case of Jacobson v. Massachusetts on the subject of vaccinations.
For Pete’s sake!
Suddenly they’re saying more MLB players are testing positive for covid, many of them vaccinated. What are the odds more of the fully vaccinated players will be told they tested positive as the playoffs approach? Is there a chance in four to six weeks Rob Manfred will fall in line and say the playoffs are in jeopardy? Rob has already shown he’s more about politics than the love of baseball
Only time will tell
Ehhh….I don’t know man. Things would have to change dramatically for that to happen. Too much money at stake, no?
MLB played last year so I doubt the postseason will be in jeopardy even with lower stadium capacity limits. I do expect more player positive results with the Delta variant unfortunately which will be in line with the general population.
Not to worry. Boone will have Cole playing some pick up basketball games to keep em fresh.
Lololol
This comment made me think of family guy when Peter was gonna ask oj to sign his basketball. Imagine asking Aaron Boone to his to sign a basketball that would be savage
Cashman must regret letting Estrada go
But Giants fans are loving that move so far! Semi surprised one of the rebuilding teams didn’t take a flyer on Tauchman but he’s looked pretty lost at the plate for awhile now.
Well, they were in Florida. And it’s a spit show there right now. And yes, vaccinated people can get it but fortunately it’s not as bad. It is ticking up again and that just stinks. We will never learn, sadly.
Gio glass back to the DL.
Urshela is an under the radar standout. Solid defense; good clutch hitter; works a count and brings a positive attitude.
The organization has no one who can fill his shoes.
For a sport with fans who are so attuned to sabremetrics, statistics, probabilities, etc. statements like “I know someone who got Covid and they were fine” in the face of 600,000+ US dead and millions worldwide is…something.
Doctors, media, politicians, their fellow citizens…they question the motives of absolutely everyone, EXCEPT for the people asking them for donations and feeding them obvious bull.
Your daily Yankees casualty report.
Cole is just terrified about facing the Orioles lineup.
Welcome to the party Cole. We wear pink on Tuesdays and play connect 4 with fruit punch at 5 pm.
Sincerely, the Milwaukee Brewers bullpen
after his last outing against the Rays…..yeah…..hes sick with something
A vaccine and a mask will prevent the Covid issues. Maybe Yoga for keeping hamstring problems at bay. If players can stay on the field more often, I can’t see that I’ll continue to follow baseball. The IL stays are getting ridiculous.
I think you also need to warsh your hands, but yes, vaccines and masks go a long ways. And stay 6 feet away from people not wearing masks. Like that’s hard.
One of the things to remember is most MLB players got the J&J vaccine which works really well but has a lesser efficacy in avoiding symptoms/infection. I am not surprised at all that we are seeing more players go to the COVID-IL especially as cases increase and MLB players are tested a ton.
I do think there is a real chance this becomes an issue in the playoff race. If I was a team with a chance at the playoffs, I would ask the whole team – whatever their vac status is – to avoid as much indoor areas as possible, restaurants, etc. for the remaining two months as you can afford top players going out for 10 days.
I don’t think baseball is over the problem of players testing positive. Hopefully it won’t get as bad as in the worst places right now but it could easily impact the postseason.
My wife and I are about to go on a field trip to visit friends and family in Texas and Georgia for the first time in quite awhile. So it turns out that COVID is blowing up in both places, in the specific counties where we are going. We are vaccinated and still wearing our masks a fair amount of the time but this will be an adventure to be sure. Just got back from Maine and New Hampshire and things are pretty quiet up there. But we can easily isolate ourselves at our camp in NH, it won’t be so easy where we are going now.
Suck it up buttercup. Some of us have been out here the whole time.
I agree Ducky.
Huh? I’ve been working around people through the entire pandemic but all my siblings are high risk as are the older members of my wife’s family. It’s made it a challenge to be around them. I simply don’t want to give it to anybody. If that makes me a buttercup then so be it. I just got back from visiting my 82 year old sister in the hospital and now I’m going to visit my 80 year old brother. I’m not exactly a spring chicken myself either.
Good on you whyhay. Glad some still understand the concept of sacrifice for the common good that builds a great society. Now it is me me me . The Greatest Generation would be ashamed of many today.
Never judge someone until you walk a mile in their shoes.
I walked a mile this morning in my own shoes and that was hard enough. 😉
I hear ya. I just came across a running log I had as a teen. 60 miles a week would do me in now.
Yup, back to back 50 mile weeks at age 54 lead to a torn meniscus. Stupid.
Ouch. I was thinking about getting back as well but the knees wouldn’t take it. Swimming and the mountain bike now.
It would have to be a conspiracy amongst several governments. Can you imagine how many people, doctors, and governments would have to cooperate with each other to pull this off?
I’d wish that they’d release whether they are asymptomatic or have some symptoms. That would explain the spread.
For the love of… NOT MONTY TOO!!!
Yeah.
It’s not what you want.
The Yankees must have gotten a bad vaccine batch. It’s surprising that so many players on the team who are vaccinated have had or now have COVID.
Because let’s be honest, the CDC and scientist have zero idea of what the vaccine covers and they are making it up as they go. That J and J vaccine seems like a big issue also. I think we are now at the point of the players show no symptoms or manageable symptoms don’t make them quarantine 7 days because what’s the point especially since they have been vaccinated already! This virus is not going anywhere especially with our borders wide open and different strains flooding in. Here immunity is the only option at this point.
I think the scientists so have a decent idea of what’s going on. However, COVID is too politicized to know with a high degree of certainty what is the best direction. Some are treating the virus as the end of the world and others are not. Moreover, in our rush to put the virus behind us we may have moved too fast in pumping out vaccines that often take much longer to develop effective protections.
I have no issue with some wanting to develop herd immunity but we have to recognize not everyone views this as possible. We also need to understand that some are more vulnerable (like myself) where recovery is not always guaranteed. So, in my view if someone wants to unmask and remain unvaccinated I have no issue with it. But don’t beg for aid when these same people are infected and need medical and economic assistance. You can’t gamble your future away and when you lose expect others to pick up the pieces.
Finally, if teams and the league want to place infected players on the IL that’s fine. If they want them to play, that’s fine too. It’s their business and they can run as they choose. All I can do is try to take care of myself.
Being vaccinated never meant someone can’t be infected. That is known fact of all vaccines. Being fully vaccinated has lead some people to let their guard down and place themselves to situations which increase the chances of infection. Fortunately the fact they are vaccinated means their chances of having a serious illness is greatly reduced.
Good thing they trade for Heaney.
starting to think this might not be our year
Wow, the Yankees loaded up at the trade deadline just to be beaten back down by Covid. I think it’s time to realize that this just isn’t the year for New York. They are going to have to bring up some temporary help from the minors, maybe even Garcia who has been getting tattooed down in AAA. One step forward, two steps back.
Hah.
I’m sure you’d like to see that. But you will not. The Yanks added because they want to make the postseason. A little tribulation doesn’t change that. At all.
2.5 back of the Wild Card.
Just gotta keep our heads down & grind away here. It’ll pass.
I love how in-tuned the haters are with this team.
What team?
We can always count on Dotty for some hysteria/faux concern.
The games should be canceled for 10 days. It’s an unfair advantage for their opponents when multiple starters are forced to be gone for so long.
That’s not going to happen unless they play 5-inning triple headers to make up those 10 games.
NYY got a bad vaccine batch
Good thing they went out and got that big time arm. Ugh. Can Rizzo pitch? He struck out Freeman.
This is what happens when you trust a vaccine made by the owners of the Jets instead of a reputable pharmaceutical company
“reputable pharmaceutical company”
LOL!
This thread is chock full of epidemiologists and theologists.
pretty much every commenter on any topic on the internet did stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night
How could I not take that into consideration? I’m making reservations right now!
Dude you’ll know EVERYTHING by mid-day tomorrow. Looking forward to your posts.
Who would have thought spidertack prevented covid?
Man, we all come to this site with a common love of baseball. Its a bummer to see so many comments that are straight up negative. Wishin these players the best as they deal with covid.
Why do they have to quarantine if they’re vaccinated?
How about you read up on how vaccines work?
Dude its a new thing. Corona didn’t exist 2 years ago. Maybe you shouldn’t be so sure about the accuracy of the info out there.
Look at what’s changed since it started. They are making it up as they go.
That was a helluva start by Gil last night. Maybe we will get to see if these prospects are really prospects!
What matters most is could Cole earn any more wins even if he pitched? It’s pretty obvious the sticky stuff had helped him alot. Yankees could almost sue him for not coming out clean when he signed the contract.
Just a disaster area of poor roster construction.