Cleveland Guardians manager Terry Francona tests positive for COVID

NEW YORK, NEW YORK – APRIL 24: Terry Francona #77 of the Cleveland Guardians looks on from the dugout before the game against the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium on April 24, 2022 in the Bronx borough of New York City. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)

The Guardians are once again dealing with a COVID outbreak, which led to the postponement of Wednesday’s game against the White Sox.

The Guardians and Chicago White Sox were unable to play their series finale Wednesday afternoon, as Cleveland manager Terry Francona, along with bench coach DeMarlo Hale and other team personnel, tested positive for COVID.

According to Mandy Bell of MLB.com, those who tested positive include Francona, Hale, and “other uniform personnel and some traveling support staff.”

It’s unclear at this point if any players have been affected with this round of COVID. Earlier this season, infielders Yu Chang and Owen Miller, along with pitchers Cal Quantrill and Anthony Castro went on the COVID injured list. And while Miller, Quantrill, and Castro came back relatively quickly, Chang is still working his way back to the team.

The Guardians have had something of an interesting history with COVID-19 as an organization. During the shortened 2020 season, pitchers Zach Plesac and Mike Clevinger broke COVID protocol and left the team hotel in – you guessed it – Chicago to get dinner with friends. Both players were disciplined and, no matter what anyone says otherwise, it seemingly led to the trade that ultimately sent Clevinger to San Diego.

A number of players have tested positive for COVID over the past few years now, including ace Shane Bieber, who got it just before spring training last season.

So the organization is no stranger to COVID and its ability to upend a roster or a stretch of games. The most important thing is that everyone who has it recovers quickly and that the team can manage to avoid too many players testing positive moving forward.

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