Reyes was told not to report after attending a 4th of July party without wearing a mask over the holiday weekend. After the negative test, Reyes will take batting practice in the afternoon.
On Tuesday, Indians manager Terry Francona said that Reyes did nothing wrong, but that the precautions were part of a protocol he had to follow to keep others on the team safe.
“(Reyes) was a doing nothing wrong … I want to make the perfectly clear,” Francona said. “There was nothing egregious … he just didn’t have a mask on, and he was with people on the Fourth of July."
“We called him and told him he needs to tested again – when it’s appropriate. He’s not in the penalty box – I want to make that perfectly clear.”
Francona added that Reyes' batting practice session would be "by design."
Newly acquired outfielder Delino DeShields Jr. has been in Arizona and not with the Indians just yet, but is on his way to Cleveland. DeShields tested negative and was given the go ahead to travel to Cleveland.
If the 27-year-old tests negative again when he arrives, he'll be able to join the club at Progressive Field.
DeShields posted a .246/.326/.347 slash line in five seasons with the Rangers before being traded to the Indians in December as part of the Corey Kluber deal.
He's played in at least 106 games in four of his five seasons. He's known for his speed and defense, but isn't expected to be an everyday starter for the Tribe.
Francona told media members over Zoom on Wednesday that he's re-iterating to his team that they need to stay positive during summer camp, with just two and a half weeks left before the Indians play in a game that counts.
"All the things we have believed in in the past, we better damn well believe in now, because we are all we've got," Francona said. "We can choose to say 'oh it's hot, there's no people,' or we can be like 'it's a day at the ballpark and we're trying to prepare to kick somebody's ass.'"
The fact that there will be no fans in attendance during games the 60-game season adds another wrinkle. Tito said that the Indians in-stadium entertainment staff will test out some crowd noise and other sounds at Progressive Field to gauge what players are comfortable with on the field.
"Its going to be difficult," all-star third baseman Jose Ramirez said via a translator. "You can't deny that. We're used to playing with fans, so we'll have to make adjustments. We love this game ... we're going to have to make the best of this."
Cleveland's season opener is set for July 24th at home against the Royals, and Francona is doing all he can to keep the Indians motivated.
"We start, and everything you do counts." Francona added. "50 years from now, somebody looks on the back of somebody's baseball card, they're not going to care that we had some damn virus that they probably never even heard of. This is baseball. We can't try to do too much"