Yankees: DJ LeMahieu's Coronavirus Testing Story Proves How Tough 2020 Season Will Be

Yankees star DJ LeMahieu’s coronavirus testing story is alarming.

Even though he’s a long shot to be in the lineup on Opening Day, Yankees fans are undoubtedly thrilled that DJ LeMahieu has joined his teammates at summer camp following his laborious battle with the coronavirus.

The three-time All-Star returned to the Bronx two weeks after manager Aaron Boone announced that he was asymptomatic and quarantining at his home in Michigan. However, despite not feeling any effects of COVID-19, LeMahieu revealed that his negative tests were anything but reliable.

The full quote is incredibly alarming and really proves how difficult it will be for MLB to complete its 60-game season, which is set to get underway next week.

DJ LeMahieu: "I think ended up having about 11 to 12 tests. It was weird because I tested negative and then positive and then negative. It was frustrating because I was feeling 100% normal and still every morning I'd wake up at 7 o'clock to see the result and it was positive."
— Bryan Hoch (@BryanHoch) July 18, 2020

“It was surprising. It was shocking. It’s definitely a scary thing when you have something that there’s no cure for,” LeMahieu told reporters. “I didn’t really have any symptoms; very surprised I tested positive. I was lucky I wasn’t in contact with hardly anyone when I got the news. I really didn’t do a lot, just kind of hung out and tried to get those negative tests and get back here as soon as I could.”

The 32-year-old’s story should sound the alarms for MLB, which recently disclosed the results of its latest sample of tests. Per ESPN insider Buster Olney, just six of the 10,548 individuals examined tested positive.

From MLB: The # of monitoring samples collected and tested in the past week was 10,548; 6 of 10,548 samples, which is 0.05%, have been new positives.
The past week included a 5-day period in which no new positives were reported.
5 of the 6 positives were players; 1 a staff member
— Buster Olney (@Buster_ESPN) July 17, 2020

As encouraging as those results are, LeMahieu’s experience is just further confirmation that the virus can be silent, which is a big reason for its rapid spread. Odds are that if one player on a club tests positive, others will in short order. The last thing MLB wants to see is a side being forced to pull out of the restart as a result of being unable to field a competitive team.

We want fans to be ecstatic that baseball is finally returning, but they should also realize that it could be taken away again just as easily.

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