CHICAGO — Chicago Cubs manager David Ross and president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer have tested positive for COVID-19.
A spokesperson for the team said Ross and Hoyer are feeling fine and quarantining. Both are vaccinated.
Bench coach Andy Green — who will run the team while Ross is away, beginning with Friday afternoon’s game against the Pittsburgh Pirates — says Ross is handling the situation as best he can.
“Ross doesn’t feel anything at all. He feels completely normal,” Green said during a conference call with reporters on Friday. “He’s frustrated he can’t manage this team. He’ll do what he can at home.”
Despite Ross’ positive test, Green says there is no indication at this time of any further COVID-19 cases in the clubhouse.
“At this point, all of his [Ross] close contacts have been tested and we have no positive tests within the clubhouse,” said Green. “We hope all of us stay healthy and continue to test negative.
“We’re going to try and reduce our time in the clubhouse over the coming week, try to mitigate the spread of it as much as possible.”
The Cubs are among a handful of big league teams that have failed to reach the 85% vaccination threshold required for the relaxation of Major League Baseball’s COVID-19 protocols.
The team issued a COVID-19 vaccine mandate for its non-playing employees, sources told ESPN’s Jesse Rogers on Thursday.
Those employees have to be fully vaccinated by Oct. 4, when staff return to their offices for the offseason. A source told ESPN that at least 90% of the team’s employees are vaccinated.
Because they are part of a union, MLB players are exempt from team mandates, as they have to be collectively bargained. The league and union are currently negotiating a new collective bargaining agreement. The current one expires on Dec. 1.
Still, Green hopes the Cubs players who are still unvaccinated might see the benefits of getting the shot.
“I think everything we see from a research perspective shows that those of us who choose to get vaccinated have a much greater likelihood that we’re asymptomatic … I think that’s the message for the unvaccinated guys in the clubhouse who have continued to make that choice.”
Information from the Associated Press was used in this report.