Covid Outbreak Forces Guardians To Make Slew of Roster Moves

The Cleveland Guardians seem to be on the verge of a Covid outbreak. According to manager Terry Francona, three players have tested positive and are now on the injured list in advance of today's doubleheader with the Chicago White Sox. 

Most notably, red-hot infielder Owen Miller, along with right-handed starter Cal Quantrill, and fellow righty Anthony Castro are all out. Four players have been recalled: Three pitchers, Enyel De Los Santos,  Kirk McCarty and Tanner Tully, plus top shortstop prospect Gabriel Arias — though he's only in as the 29th man for today’s doubleheader. 

Major league batting leader sidelined

Miller has been killing it in the first couple of weeks of the season, coming out of nowhere to lead the majors in hitting with a .500 average thus far (14-for-28) with a major league-leading 7 doubles, and a ridiculous OPS of 1.510.

The 22-year-old Arias, Cleveland's No. 3 prospect, started at 2B for his major league debut in Game 1 of the doubleheader. 

It's not clear at this point who would take Quantrill's spot in the rotation. McCarty and Tully are possibilities. 

Francona, however, is concerned and hopes the outbreak doesn't spread further through his squad. “Unfortunately, in a clubhouse there is going to be a ton of close contacts. We’re still doing that. I don’t know if we’re out of the woods yet. I hope we are, but I don’t know if that’s going to be the case.”

Photo Credit: Sam Greene/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK