KC Royals: COVID-19 has played part in shaping Opening Day roster
The KC Royals have had six players test positive for COVID-19 and while no cases have been serious, the virus has impacted the team’s Opening Day roster.
As of now, Major League Baseball is set to begin regular season action on July 24th. The coronavirus has already made its way through the Kansas City Royals clubhouse with six players having tested positive as of this writing.
The catcher position was the first to be affected, but it’s in a much better spot now that Salvador Perez has been cleared to rejoin the team and resume his duties behind the dish. Catchers have made up half of the Royals who have tested positive with Perez, Cameron Gallagher, and Nick Dini all falling in that category.
At one time, COVID-19 had forced the Royals into potentially having Dini as their starter, but Perez is back and Meibrys Viloria is off the injured list now (non-COVID) and will likely be the backup instead. This is assuming Gallagher isn’t okayed by the time Opening Day arrives.
The first base position was also impacted, as Ryan O’Hearn probably wins the starting job if he hadn’t tested positive. Now, it’s likely Ryan McBroom‘s job to lose and that could end up being a good thing honestly, as McBroom is still unknown while O’Hearn showed the player he probably is in 2019.
The rotation was changed as well due to Brad Keller‘s positive test. Without that, Keller is likely the Opening Day starter and Danny Duffy gets the two spot. Keller will find his way into the rotation once he’s cleared to rejoin the team, but Duffy is officially taking the mound on Opening Day.
The KC Royals have been in Summer Camp for over two weeks now and the six tests have been impactful to the roster.
Some might say “Hey the cases were mild” and that’s true, but this virus has still been able to mold how the Opening Day roster is going to look. This could very well only be the beginning too, as it’s possible this virus continues to spread throughout the clubhouse and puts more players on the injured list at one point or another.
The good news is that Perez is back behind the dish and looks to have recovered just fine. Keller is on his way back as well, but there’s still no word on Gallagher, Dini, O’Hearn, and Daniel Tillo and when they’ll be back at camp.
Opening Day is fast approaching, but the Kansas City Royals have been strongly hit by the coronavirus and their roster has been affected as a result. Will it continue to be?