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As we near the season, many MLB players have been testing for COVID-19, increasing the amount of positive tests. The Pittsburgh Pirates recently announced two of their players so far have tested positive.
The Pittsburgh Pirates have announced that they have that two of their players have tested positive for the COVID-19 virus. They add to a large list of professional baseball players within the MLB to test positive. The two players so far that have tested postitive is relief pitching prospect Blake Cederlind, and minor league signee Socrates Brito. Alex Stumpf broke the news earlier today on Twitter:
Shelton says Socrates Brito, Blake Cederlind tested positive for COVID-19. They gave consent to share. #DKPS #Pirates
— Alex Stumpf (@AlexJStumpf) July 5, 2020
Out of the two, Cederlind is the larger blow to the organization. The right hander was vying for a bullpen spot for the 2020 season and was part of the team’s 60-man roster. Last year, Cederlind brokeout at Double-A. Through 45.2 innings, Cederlind had a 1.77 ERA, 3.06 FIP, and 1.03 WHIP, while posting a solid 8.6% walk rate and giving up just one home run.
He did make it to Triple-A, but pitched just three games and 6 innings. Cederlind isn’t a big strikeout pitcher, as he has a career 21.7% strikeout rate and 8.7 K/9. Currently, FanGraphs ranks Blake Cederlind as the team’s 32nd best prospect.
Although Brito wasn’t projected for a large role, it is still a hit for outfield depth that has lost Pablo Reyes and Kevin Kramer for all of the 2020 season. Once seen as a future piece of the Arizona Diamondbacks’ outfield, Brito has since fallen from grace. He’s consistnetly posted great numbers at Triple-A with a .297/.345/.491 line at the minors’ highest level, but his 218 MLB plate appearances have seen him hit just .179/.216/.309.
Brito spent the 2019 season in the Toronto Blue Jays’ organization, mostly at the Triple-A level. There, he put up a .282/.328/.510 line, a 107 wRC+ and smacked 16 long balls to go with 11 stolen bases in 428 plate appearances. Brito collected just 43 plate appearances at the major league level, accumulating three hits, four walks, and 17 strikeouts.
The Pittsburgh Pirates will likely put both on the newly formed COVID-19 specific injured list. The list lets the Pirates keep a player who tested positive for the virus to spend as much time as they need in recovering from it. We here at Rum Bunter wish both Blake and Socrates a speedy recovery from the virus.