McAdam: In abrupt turn, Red Sox get the all-clear after COVID scare

The Red Sox went from "fire drill'' to false alarm in the span of a little more than two days.

On Saturday morning, the Red Sox announced pitcher Matt Barnes had tested positive for COVID-19 and had up to eight members of the organization sequestered as part of contact tracing protocol.

"It's a fire drill now, right?'' asked Alex Cora, noting that chaos that the Sox had been thrown into just six days before the start of the regular season.

Upon further review, however, it wasn't. Monday afternoon, Major League Baseball's joint COVID-19 committee cleared Barnes to return to camp, based on information that he had actually tested as a "non-infectious positive.'' All the people in the contact tracing protocol were also cleared to return to camp.

One source indicated that the "non-infectious positive'' was the result of Barnes having had the virus previously without knowing. In some cases, such a case can result in a positive weeks and even months later, which is apparently what happened with Barnes.

The craziness of the last few days -- coupled with Eduardo Rodriguez's late-spring "dead arm'' -- had scrambled the Red Sox pitching plans just as camp was winding down. The Sox had faced the prospect of starting the season without Rodriguez, arguably their No. 1 starter, and Barnes, one of the club's two best late-inning relievers.

It's believed that Garrett Richards, the team's projected No. 3 starter, was involved in the contact tracing protocol, based on his potential exposure to Barnes. Relievers Garrett Whitlock and Matt Andriese were also believed to be in that group.

Now, the day before they're set to leave Fort Myers for Boston, the Sox have a reprieve.



"I just heard about it,'' said Cora, minutes after the Red Sox blanked the Atlanta Braves, 4-0, in a seven-inning game. "I haven't talked to (members of the Baseball Operations staff) but I know (Barnes) got cleared by the committee. I don't know about the details, but I'm just happy he's going to be back with us and it seems like we're going to be at full strength in a few days.''

What's uncertain, at least for now, is how far behind the handful of pitchers in quarantine have fallen due to their inactivity. Barnes last threw in a "B'' game Friday, the day before the test result was revealed, while several others -- including Richards -- haven't thrown off a mound in nearly a week.

"We're about to see,'' said Cora. "I'll call (Barnes) and see where he's at and we'll go from there. I think it's too soon to make decisions, too soon about where they're at. I'm just happy they're going to be with us -- that's the most important thing.''

The news also spares the Red Sox the trouble of attempting to get nine (or more) people transported from Fort Myers to Boston separate from the rest of the roster. Presumably, all can now be part of the team charter that will leave southwest Florida for New England following the completion of the team's final Grapefruit League game Tuesday afternoon.

That doesn't mean, however, that the team's pitching plans are set. The Sox have tabbed Eovaldi as the replacement for Rodriguez in Thursday's opener, but have yet to detail who will pitch in the season's second or third game of the season on Saturday and Sunday.

Rodriguez threw a successful bullpen Monday morning, but the Sox seem determined to be extra cautious with him and it's unlikely, at this point, that he will pitch in the first series. It's possible, in fact that he will have to wait for the second turn in the rotation to pop up before he's given clearance.

One possibility would be to go with Tanner Houck on Saturday. Houck had been optioned to the alternate training site more than a week ago, but, with the staff thin, was brought back Monday to pitch against Atlanta. Houck was brilliant over 4.1 scoreless innings, during which he allowed just two singles and a walk.

"He was real good,'' said Cora. "The ball was moving all over the place, but he threw strikes, which is the most important thing. He got his work in and that was a positive outing for him. Obviously, he's an option with all that's going on. There's a chance he can be part of this.''

The Sox planned a staff meeting for Monday to determine the availability of the pitchers and make some final roster decisions.

"We're going to be patient,'' Cora vowed. "We'll stay the course. We did a good job the last few days, staying calm and now that we know what's going on and where we're at, we'll plan for the weekend. The good thing is, we have options. We're in a good place. I think that off-day (Friday) is going to benefit us. We'll take advantage of that and make decisions based on who can perform this weekend go from there.

"I need to know more about this, to be honest with you. Hopefully, it's the last time we have to go through this. But spring training is to prepare you, right, for whatever happens during the season so we're prepared, but hopefully we don't have to deal with this anymore.''