PHOENIX — Multiple members of the Arizona Diamondbacks organization have tested positive for COVID-19. According to a team official, one player from the 40-man roster, one minor league coach and several minor league players tested positive, but are all asymptomatic.
“When MLB shut down all Spring Training sites last week, we opted to test more than 80 members of the organization for COVID-19 to ensure that those who had been at Salt River Fields were healthy and safe," the team said in a statement. "We have followed all protocols immediately to ensure that each person who tested positive receives proper medical attention, if necessary, and that they are quarantined while making all efforts organizationally to prevent any additional spread.”
Two other minor league players had also tested positive in the last month, but neither had been at the team facility.
In a call with reporters Wednesday night, D-backs general manager Mike Hazen said the organization was awaiting the test results as they get ready for Spring Training to resume on July 3. Sixty players will be split between Chase Field and Salt River Fields in order to maintain distancing while getting ready for the MLB season to begin July 24.
Hazen said he was hopeful that the league could pull off a season, despite the virus showing no signs of slowing down in many parts of the country.
"We are going to pound it on," Hazen said of making sure all members of the organization take the health and safety protocols seriously. "We are going to have to make sure that everybody understands exactly what we mean by high-risk behavior. Things are going to have to change temporarily in our lives to be able to do this. And I think everyone's going to have to just be on board with that."
