Yankees: Gleyber Torres held out as NYY’s COVID outbreak worsens

On Tuesday night, the Yankees, in a show of united strength, voted as a team to play the series opener against the Tampa Bay Rays despite a positive COVID test for third base coach Phil Nevin, while several other coaches sequestered out of an abundance of caution.

Unfortunately, the situation has worsened entering Wednesday night’s game, and the lineup has now been affected — though the two teams seem likely to press on again.

Yankees star Gleyber Torres is being held out of Wednesday’s lineup while awaiting clarifying test results (he is not among the team’s current positives).

Torres, who we’ve just learned contracted COVID-19 in December and was fully vaccinated, has joined the madness in the clubhouse.

In addition to Torres’ inconclusive data, Aaron Boone revealed that the Yankees now officially have seven positive cases surrounding the team, though only one of the additional positives is on the coaching staff.

Phil Nevin and Reggie Willits remain away from the team in the wake of their positive tests, and pitching coach Matt Blake has now joined them.

Yankees star Gleyber Torres is out of the lineup Wednesday amid a COVID outbreak.

Torres played all nine innings of action in Tuesday’s game, misplaying a ground ball off the bat of Austin Meadows to open the ninth before the rally was ultimately squelched.

His benching amid a whirlwind of negative updates makes sense since caution is the name of the game, even following the Yankees passing the 85% vaccine threshold that allowed them to ease restrictions.

Somehow, New York’s current scramble has nothing on what the Padres are going through, which has featured a positive test for Fernando Tatis Jr., COVID-IL stints for Wil Myers and Eric Hosmer after mid-game adjustments, and precautions surrounding others, like Jorge Mateo.

The vaccine has reduced players’ chances of experiencing symptoms or requiring hospitalization, and six of the seven Yankees battling positive tests remain asymptomatic. Clearly, community spread remains worrisome despite a proliferation of the Johnson and Johnson vaccine, however.

Early reports indicating that five Yankees coaches had all contracted the virus post-innoculation ended up being misinformed, but the disease has spread throughout the locker room in a similarly disconcerting manner, considering everyone dealing with a positive tests was supposedly past the threshold for optimal safety.

As Gerrit Cole said in his press availability Tuesday night, though, there will not be a point in the next several years where outbreaks have been completely eliminated.

As strange and unscientific as this all seems, it’s simply another storm for the Yankees to weather that has now swept up their starting shortstop.

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