LOS ANGELES — The past 10 days haven’t been enjoyable for Mike Yastrzemski. Recent days almost certainly haven’t been gumdrops and rainbows for Steven Duggar, Brandon Belt, Zack Littell and Dominic Leone — the Giants’ other COVID-positive players — either.
Yastrzemski has spent the previous 10 days alone, first in Washington D.C. and then back in the Bay Area, in hotel rooms away from his teammates and family. But now Yastrzemski, 31, will make his return to the Giants after 10 days on the COVID list Wednesday night against the Dodgers.
The outfielder, who will patrol center field and hit sixth, said being isolated from the team and seeing others catch the bug made him feel “helpless.”
“When you’re sitting in a hotel room, by yourself, watching your teammates play, work and do everything they can — it’s just not a fun place to be,” Yastrzemski told reporters from the visitor’s clubhouse Wednesday. “Very vulnerable. Being away from family is awful. Definitely missed my wife and daughter. That was the toughest pill to swallow, for sure.”
Yastrzemski’s initial positive test came as a surprise, he said. He got tested because he was feeling some cold-like symptoms, but thought it must have just been from allergies or the frigid temperatures from Cleveland. On April 24 in D.C., he told SF manager Gabe Kapler that he’d be ready to play once his test returned negative. But that was not the case.
The first six days of Yastrzemski’s quarantine were spent in Washington D.C., where he tested positive for the virus. It was his first time with the bug, and he felt minor symptoms like sore throat and a stuffy nose, but things cleared up after a couple days (Yastrzemski is vaccinated and boosted).
When he felt up to it, Yastrzemski did some light workouts in his hotel room. He threw some weighted balls into the couch pillows (“Make sure I didn’t break anything”) to try to stay active. Later on, he self-tossed soft foam balls or balled-up socks and for some swings.
Since his symptoms were mild and temporary, Yastrzemski was hoping to return before the 10-day isolation period. League policy states asymptomatic players can return from the COVID list with two consecutive negative PCR tests five days after testing positive.
Yastrzemski, though, needed the whole 10 days.
“That was the most frustrating part, because I was feeling ready to go and feeling completely fine. The tests just weren’t following up and coming back as we hoped.”
In the eight games he missed, the Giants went 4-4. One of his replacements, Luis González, hit a go-ahead home run in Milwaukee.
Before testing positive, Yastrzemski was on a four-game hit streak in which he went 7-for-15. Looking for a silver lining, he said he’s hoping the 10 days were a “sweet spot” of recovery time but not too long to take away his rhythm.
When asked about how a COVID stint might affect a hitter’s rhythm at the plate, Kapler said it’s difficult to pinpoint the idea of timing with batters for a number of reasons. There’s an element of randomness and can often be a disconnect between describing a hitter and his results.
“It must have been really hard for Yaz,” Kapler said. “Nobody wants to be sitting in a hotel room when your team is off in another city playing and you’re watching the games on television. And you feel like you can really contribute. It must be a major challenge for these players.”
- The Giants optioned utility player Luke Williams to Triple-A to make roster space for Yastrzemski. Williams hit .250 in with plus defense in 12 games for the Giants.
- LaMonte Wade Jr. went 0-for-4 while leading off for the River Cats on Wednesday. The door was open for him to debut with the Giants in Los Angeles, but he and the team instead decided another rehab assignment would behoove him. Both Wade and the team want him to feel completely comfortable doing any possible action on a baseball diamond. Playing a day game right after a night game is another bar to clear, which he’s now done. His return remains imminent.
- Jason Krizan, who got his first MLB hit after 1,132 career minor league games last weekend, cleared waivers and has been outrighted to Triple-A Sacramento. Pitcher Cory Abbott, though, didn’t clear waivers and is now in the Washington Nationals’ system.
- San Francisco signed Darin Núñez, the reliever who recently underwent Tommy John surgery, to a minor-league contract.
- Joc Pederson is leading off on Wednesday night against his former team. Pederson hit his 24th career leadoff home run on April 24 and trails only George Springer and Charlie Blackmon among active players in total leadoff bombs.