Positive COVID-19 tests at the Cleveland Guardians organization led to the postponement of Wednesday’s Chicago White Sox-Guardians game at Guaranteed Rate Field, Major League Baseball announced.
According to several reports before the postponement Terry Francona has tested positive and would not be available to administer the game. Guardian Bench coach DeMarlo Hale also tested positivealong with “other support personnel,” according to reports.
According to a March 26 Associated Press article, MLB 2022 COVID protocols include “MLB intends to reschedule games only when necessary to protect the health and safety of club personnel, players and umpires. Matches will not be rescheduled for competitive reasons provided the club has a sufficient number of players to replace players in the active squad who are unable to play due to COVID-19.”
Following multiple positive COVID-19 tests within the Cleveland Guardians organization, tonight’s game has been postponed to allow for further testing and contact tracing. Major League Baseball will provide a new scheduling update when it becomes available.
— Chicago White Sox (@whitesox) May 11, 2022
MLB will provide a rescheduling update for the Sox Guardians game when it becomes available.
The postponement resulted in the Sox tweaking their likely rotation for the upcoming four-game series against the New York Yankees in guaranteed rate field.
Dylan Cease is still scheduled for Thursday’s series opener, and Vince Velasquez – who was in line for the pitch on Wednesday – is scheduled for Friday.
Dallas Keuchel and Michael Kopech have been pushed back a day and are scheduled for Saturday and Sunday, respectively.
The Sox and Guardians split the truncated two-game streak. The Sox’s 4-1 win on Tuesday improved the team’s record to 4-10 against the American League Central. They are 1-4 against the guards.
The Minnesota Twins (18-12 on Wednesday) and Sox (15-14) are the only teams in the division above the .500. The guards are 15-15. Sox manager Tony La Russa said the records don’t tell the full story about headquarters.
“Records are deceptive,” La Russa said. “If you look at the end of the season you will see that Detroit is going to be a little healthier and harder to play. Kansas City will be difficult to play. Cleveland, you know, Terry and the boys are doing a great job competing and Minnesota obviously has a lot going on. I think there will be several clubs that win records and it will be a very good competition.”