Chris Fetter's first Opening Day as a big league coach will be spent from home.
Tigers manager A.J. Hinch announced Monday that the club's pitching coach has been removed from camp and will be gone from the team 'for the foreseeable future' due to a positive COVID-19 test.
The Tigers also removed a few other coaches from camp 'out of an abundance of caution,' said Hinch, as they complete the contract tracing protocols. At the moment, no one else on the team has tested positive.
Hinch said he'll wait to name a temporary replacement for Fetter until "all the logistics" fall into place, "but obviously we are going to press forward and do our thing and Fet can work from afar.
"He's already been texting me all morning with some plans. So he will still be a part of this and a part of our planning, but we will have to shift a few responsibilities for the time being," Hinch said.
The Tigers learned of Fetter's positive test late Sunday night. They open the season Thursday against the Indians.
"I'm devastated for him," Hinch said. "No. 1 is, we're going to navigate through this as a group and for him. But it is horrible for him because he's worked tirelessly, he gets an opportunity and then something like this pops up. And he's done nothing wrong. He was literally hotel, field, couple road trips. He's arguably the best at the mask and one of the safest people in our entire organization, so I'm heartbroken for him that an opportunity can be missed here."
Fetter, who was hired by the Tigers in November, is the second member of the team to be forced from camp due to COVID-19, along with starting pitcher Spencer Turnbull.
