Twins cleared for doubleheader in Oakland

April 20th, 2021

The Twins did not have any additional positive tests for COVID-19 among the results they received Monday evening, according to sources.

The club will travel to the Bay Area on Monday night, and the A's announced the teams will return to play at the Oakland Coliseum on Tuesday with a traditional (single-admission) doubleheader scheduled to begin at 5:30 p.m. CT.

Minnesota's final two scheduled games against the Angels on Saturday and Sunday were postponed along with their originally scheduled series opener in Oakland on Monday after three members of the travel party tested positive for COVID-19 following the club's arrival in Southern California. There are four known positive tests among the group in all.

Shortstop Andrelton Simmons had already tested positive for COVID-19 last Wednesday, during Minnesota's last homestand. An unnamed Twins staff member showed a positive test on Friday before the Twins lost their series opener to the Angels. Two players then tested positive ahead of Saturday's scheduled game, including outfielder Kyle Garlick, as announced by manager Rocco Baldelli.

But with Monday's results, the Twins have not had any additional positive tests for two consecutive days, including both saliva tests and nasal swabs, which gave them clearance to proceed to their series against Oakland. Until then, they had been isolating at their hotel in the Anaheim area.

President of baseball operations Derek Falvey indicated in a radio interview on Sunday that the members of the group who tested positive were all either asymptomatic or experiencing very mild symptoms.

Though the Twins' travel party had the opportunity to receive the one-dose vaccine from Johnson & Johnson on April 8, those that underwent vaccination at that time were still only considered "partially vaccinated," as the recommended two weeks had not elapsed since the date of the injection. Garlick was among those who received the one-dose vaccine at that time.

The Twins have not yet announced plans to reschedule their postponed games against the Angels. The clubs have many mutual off-days remaining throughout the regular season, and the Twins are scheduled to host the Angels for four games from July 22-25.