ST. PETERSBURG – COVID-19 has been making turns at the Red Sox during a road trip that began in Cleveland before continuing on to St. Petersburg.
But the toughest result came in the middle of Tuesday night’s 8-5 defeat against the Lightning, when shortstop Xander Bogaerts was ripped off to start the bottom of the second inning due to a positive test result.
Bogaerts, the longest-serving Red Sox player and widely regarded as the team leader, is the sixth Boston player to test positive for COVID-19 since Friday.
It was a quick turn of events for Bogaerts, who put the Red Sox on the board with a single RBI on top of the first Tuesday night. He then put his position at the bottom of the first.
After that, his night was over. It will be at least a while before Boston recovers its best overall player. Players who test positive for COVID-19 must generally quarantine for a minimum of 10 days. Quarantine may be a little shorter for vaccinated players, although this has not been common. It is not known if Bogaerts is vaccinated.
Before the opening of the road trip on Friday, the Sox announced that the leading man Kiké Hernández, who had been very hot for two months, tested positive. That same day, Christian Arroyo football field was considered a close contact and tested positive on Sunday.
When the Sox arrived at Tropicana Field for a four-game series that began Monday, things got worse rather than better.
Josh Taylor, a reliever, was considered a close contact in the middle of Monday’s game, making him a seventh player – and fourth member of the bullpen – to be out of the team in the foreseeable future.