The Red Sox got more bad news Tuesday: Hirokazu Sawamura became the latest member of the team to test positive for COVID-19.
Sawamura joins fellow relievers Martin Perez and Matt Barnes, along with Kiké Hernandez and Christian Arroyo in quarantine after being diagnosed with the virus. Others testing positive include coaches Ramon Vazquez and Kiyoshi Momose.
Reliever Josh Taylor and coach Tom Goodwin are also being quarantined, according to Red Sox manager Alex Cora, due to close contact.
So, what is the timetable for possible returns for each of the players and coaches, and how might their vaccination status impact the time away? We tracked down some answers ...
Speaking prior to Tuesday night's game at Tropicana Field, Cora offered an upbeat attitude toward what has become a challenging situation.
“I think yesterday, you guys heard me after the game yesterday. That was very simple. But then you get home and then you turn on the TV and you watch and you’re like, 'Oh, OK, we got a wild card spot," he said. "It’s one less day of the season, we’re closer to the end of it. You try to put it as positive as possible. It’s not easy because whenever you see Brad’s (head trainer Brad Pearson) number or Chaim’s (chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom) number, they’re not calling you to say hi or good morning, how was your night? It seems like whenever Brad texts me or calls me, it’s something negative.
"This is not the first. He was the same way in ’18 and ’19. But I’m learning a lot. I think, like I said, the group here, they do a tremendous job just trying to keep us healthy. We have to do what we have to do, but it’s not easy and it’s been going through the league a lot. The timing of this, for us, is not perfect, but at the same time, we have to fight, we have to grind. There’s no quit. We still have a lead in the wild card and tomorrow is September 1st, and September should be fun. It’s not a grind. When you’re fighting for a playoff spot, you got a chance to play in October, it should be fun. It hasn’t been easy but I try to focus on the positives when I get to the room, when I get to the house and try to put everything in the past. But then the next day comes and you get this. It’s been up and down, to be honest with you, the last five days.”
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