The Red Sox have placed Matt Barnes on the COVID-19 injured list amid symptoms of the corona virus. Boston is still awaiting the closer’s test results.
“Marwin (Gonzalez) is here. Obviously he has to go through batting practice and all that stuff but if everything checks out well, he’s going to be in the starting lineup,” manager Alex Cora announced Tuesday. “The corresponding move will be.. actually Matt Barnes. Barnesy didn’t feel that great yesterday — he didn’t feel that great today. We’re going to put him on the COVID IL. He’s gonna go through the whole testing stuff, and hopefully everything goes well.”
Gonzalez returns after a 10-day IL stint, as he had been rehabbing with Triple-A Worcester the past few days and homered Saturday for the WooSox.
Gonzalez has hit .205/.286/.297 this season with Boston. Through 70 games the switch-hitter has swatted two homers, driven in 18 runs, and has accumulated a wRC+ of 61.
“As a group, we got tested today,” Cora said. “So far, everything turned out to be negative, which is a positive, so we just have to wait for his. It’s gonna be probably later on tonight or early on tomorrow morning.”
Barnes has posted a career-high 2.30 ERA and a 2.38 xFIP this season, through 43 outings. The 31-year-old has notched a career-best 23 saves this season in his second year as closer.
“Everything, so far, like I said has been negative testing wise,” said Cora. “We should be okay. We’re just waiting for him. We kept him in the hotel, so his test is over there in the hotel. Like I said, hopefully everything goes well with him too.”
The Sox haven’t had any COVID outbreaks this season, but ran into a similar encounter when J.D. Martinez had symptoms of the flu. They placed him on the COVID IL, just to be safe. It ended up not being anything.
“I saw what happened yesterday in New York, and that’s not great,” Cora later said. “We can control what we can control. We just came from Florida, and we know the numbers. It’s a reality. Outside the Red Sox and the Yankees, and the Rays… it’s the reality of the world. We’re not superheroes”
(Photo by Adam Glanzman/Getty Images)