“I guess bummed out a little bit,” DeShields said of his initial reaction to testing positive. “I was more disappointed that all the work I was putting in had to just come to a stop.”
DeShields reported to Summer Camp on Saturday after missing the first week of practice, testing negative for the virus upon arrival in Cleveland. Even though he’s back with the team, the Indians are easing him back into activities.
“When I tested positive for it, five or six days later, MLB announced that we were starting up and guys were leaving in two or three days and I had to stay [in Arizona],” DeShields said. “I tried to get tested right away to see if it would come back negative, but it came back positive again, so I had to stay. Then Fourth of July happened and I didn’t get that test [result] back for, like, a whole week. So it was a really long process, but I tried to do the best I could.”
DeShields recalled that losing his sense of taste was the worst of all of the symptoms he had for coronavirus. He hopes his story will serve as a cautionary tale to his teammates to take COVID-19 seriously.
“Honestly, it sucked. I didn’t have an appetite. Usually if you smell something that’s good, you want it, you know what I’m saying? I couldn’t smell anything. It was a really strange experience. So I think that part was probably the toughest, to force the stuff down my mouth and knowing that I have to eat. ... I know there are some people out there that haven’t gotten their senses back after a certain amount of time. I have, so I’m fortunate and grateful for that. But during that week, week and a half, it was pretty brutal.”
Acquired in December when Cleveland traded former Cy Young winner Corey Kluber to Texas, the 27-year-old posted a .246/.326/.347 slash line in five seasons with the Rangers. He's played in at least 106 games in four of his five seasons.
The goal is to be ready by Opening Day, but DeShields is not going to rush it. He says he is going to wait to see how his body responds to ramping up from light workouts.
“My main thing is making sure that my legs are good and my arm, you know what I'm saying?” DeShields said. “Those are two things I kind of have problems with early in Spring Training. … I feel good physically. I haven't had any issues so far, so I just hope I can keep pushing myself and stay healthy at the same time.”
The prevailing thought was that the Indians could use younger outfielders like Daniel Johnson or Bradley Zimmer to fill the spot left by DeShields. While the option is still open for Opening Day next Friday, DeShields is willing to do whatever it takes to help the team.
“I’m not going to be playing just selfishly because I want to play. I think this is something that’s bigger than me. I want to take my time with it. I’ve talked to the staff here and [manager Terry Francona]. We’re all on the same page about just wanting to take things slow and being 100% ready to go. I don’t want to slow anybody down.”
Domingo Santana had summer camp's first grand slam with a 5th inning shot. Tyler Naquin went 2-for-3 with two doubles and an RBI, while Carlos Santana went 2-for-3 with a double and a run scored.
Shane Bieber continued to dominate camp, going his scheduled six innings, allowing five hits, one earned run, and racking up 10 Ks over 92 pitches.
The bullpen saw scoreless innings from Oliver Pérez, James Hoyt, and Adam Cimber.