Major League Baseball announced that it has approved a roster substitution for the Houston Astros, with Jason Castro being removed from the World Series roster due to COVID-19 protocols. Fellow catcher Garrett Stubbs will take his place. Astros’ general manager James Click didn’t answer a question about whether Castro tested positive, according to Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle. However, Mark Berman of Fox 26 reports that Castro has indeed tested positive.
This news comes with just over an hour to go before Houston is set to take on Atlanta in the fourth game of the series. This shouldn’t affect tonight’s lineup as Martin Maldonado was penciled into the catcher’s slot when that was announced earlier today.
When Jorge Soler tested positive during the NLDS, he had to quarantine for at least five days and couldn’t return until cleared as non-infectious by a four-person joint health and safety committee, consisting of two doctors, and one representative each from the league and the players’ union. Assuming the same protocols are in place now, that means Castro’s season is done. The seventh game of the series is scheduled for November 3rd, which is just four days away.
Maldonado has seen the bulk of the playing time behind the plate this season, garnering 41 plate appearances so far to Castro’s nine. But Castro has made those nine appearances count, as he had a single, a homer and two walks. As for Stubbs, he only made 38 plate appearances at the big league level this year. But in Triple-A, he got 146 appearances and hit .265/.418/.363.
misterlol
Lol
DarkSide830
um…why?
Monkey’s Uncle
Do we really want to know why? I’m not sure I do.
astick
Why do you care?
goastros123
Why do you find this funny?
5TUNT1N
Look at his name…
Rangers29
Woah, definitely makes me wonder how many others in the clubhouse were infected by him…
Mr_KLC
That’s the first thing to come to my mind. This could potentially affect the series in the next few days.
The Mets "Missed WAR"
He might have just tested positive from getting the vaccine itself or a booster. Trea Turner tested positive with no symptoms about 2 weeks after getting the vaccine. I wonder if they are going to adjust the COVID protocol in the new CBA. I’m not trying to minimize anything but the epidemic is far more under control now than it was when they created the protocol. It was a much bigger deal for a player to test positive and now it’s not such a big deal with the vaccines being available. I think Rodriguez and Freeman had the worst cases and I haven’t heard of really bad cases since them.
Cmurphy
The vaccine doesn’t contain a live virus so it can’t produce a positive test.
UGA_Steve
That might not be accurate. It depends on how they are being tested, but if it is a test for antibodies, as most are, then they can absolutely test positive after getting the vaccine.
While the vaccine does not contain a live virus, the COVID tests do not actually test for the live virus. They test for the antibodies created by the vaccine while fighting, or learning to fight, the virus, whether it is a non-active specimen of the virus or not.
Straight from the CDC .. and be certain to read it all:
“None of the authorized and recommended COVID-19 vaccines cause you to test positive on viral tests, which are used to see if you have a current infection.
If your body develops an immune response to vaccination, which is the goal, you may test positive on some antibody tests. Antibody tests indicate you had a previous infection and that you may have some level of protection against the virus.”
Ted
The vaccine cannot cause a positive on its own, though false positives can happen to anyone with the rapid tests.
nyy42
lol…
terrymesmer
Idiotic.
Ducky Buckin Fent
Exactly, @Rangers29.
A line drive off Morton’s shin has completely changed the series for the Braves. That’s regular baseball stuff though. A liner back up the middle.
But it would be so anticlimactic if Covid swept through the Astros clubhouse like it did this summer to the Yanks. Covid-19 is certainly part of the 2021 landscape. But it’s not “regular baseball stuff” either.
jjd002
Ran through the Astros early in the season. None of their games got postponed either, but players had to sit.
bhambrave
@Ducky:
I hope it doesn’t sweep through the Astros. That would be terrible.
Ducky Buckin Fent
Yee-up.
I’d hate for them to have an excuse. Take care of them tomorrow.
jabronieramone
Hopefully all the important guys. Suck it Astros
bhambrave
@Jabron: You should be ashamed.
em650r
What about contact tracing?
bucsfan0004
We know nobody near a base was in contact with Castro
TradeAcuna
Pretty much what the other guy said, but apparently everybody was fine on the Braves side after Soler’s diagnosis, so hopefully it will be the same for the Astros.
SFBay314
Surprised Castro didn’t get the Justin Turner treatment from last year…..
astros2017
Turner returned to the field to celebrate AFTER he knew he tested positive. Situations aren’t even comparable Cali boy
SFBay314
If you can celebrate while positive why can’t you play while positive? #dontTexasMyCalifornia
PS – Don’t forget your manager is a #CaliBoy too
DarkSide830
*grabs popcorn*
tstats
Lord save us
JeffreyChungus
You two remind me of a modern day, inbred version of Plato and Aristotle where the whole site stares in awe as you both make your case for whose fanbase is more insufferable
njbirdsfan
This is pretty big talk from a city so irresponsible that American taxpayers have had to rebuild it what, 20 times due to flooding?
Keep pretending you hate socialism while stealing money from blue states though.
For Love of the Game
States don’t pay taxes, people do. The wealthy everywhere subsidize everyone else.
njbirdsfan
dallasnews.com/news/watchdog/2021/05/21/texas-elec…
Great job on this too. What happened to your beloved free market? A bailout…you people can shove your “principles” you know where.
Mystery Team
MLBTR vaccine debate- Brought to you by Pfizer.
SalaryCapMyth
LOL! You deserve props. You cracked a good, NEUTRAL Covid joke that at least HYPOTHETICALLY shouldn’t piss off either side.
We’re a stubborn, contentious horde on MLBTR, however. Let’s wait and see if someone decides to make this innocent joke toxic. =)
bhambrave
I Really hope Alvarez is ok.
birdsfan415
Add links to players bruh
Dumpster Divin Theo
Tests positive for cheating
youngTank15
Covid fatality rate
acsh.org/news/2020/11/18/covid-infection-fatality-…