LeMahieu, Cessa test positive for COVID-19

July 4th, 2020

NEW YORK -- Yankees infielder and right-hander are self-isolating at their respective homes after testing positive for COVID-19, manager Aaron Boone said on Saturday.

Both players granted permission for the team to release their information. Boone said that Cessa is exhibiting “very mild symptoms” and that LeMahieu is asymptomatic. The players have not traveled to New York.

“We’re hopeful that it’ll be a short time, but they are not here at this point,” Boone said. “We’ll see how that continues to unfold the next several days.”

Saturday marked the Yankees’ first official Summer Camp workout at Yankee Stadium.

The 31-year-old LeMahieu was arguably the team’s most valuable player in 2019, when he batted .327/.375/.518 (136 OPS+) with 26 home runs and 102 RBIs in 145 games.

Cessa, 28, was 2-1 with a 4.11 ERA (108 ERA+) in 43 relief appearances last season, permitting 75 hits and 31 walks against 75 strikeouts in 81 innings.

Left-hander Aroldis Chapman and catcher Gary Sánchez were also not present for Saturday’s workout, but Boone said that was due to difficulties with travel and the intake process.

“Their tests were just a day late and we’re waiting on results,” Boone said. “They're still in the intake process. It's not good or bad. It's just they haven't taken it yet. We have a few of our players that have come in a little late just because of the parts of country, things like that.”