When the Los Angeles Dodgers reported to Summer Camp to begin preparing for the 2020 season, a number of key players were missing.
Among them were AJ Pollock, Kenley Jansen, Pedro Baez and Gavin Lux. Although the reasons for their absences were undisclosed by the organization, they have all since reported. The only player on the 40-man roster that has still yet to report is catching prospect Keibert Ruiz, but again, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts was not at liberty to reveal the reason for his absence and Ruiz was recently played on the 10-day injured list.
With so many uncertainties in the country due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, it is possible that some of those players tested positive and that is what delayed their report date.
Pollock confirmed that was the case on Friday as he recently recovered from virus after contracting it one month ago. “It was a wild ride,” he said.
“I was in Arizona, my air conditioning broke and I didn’t sleep at all that night. I had two hours of sleep, so I had a little bit of a headache and body aches. Just thought it was because I didn’t sleep well but I got a little more of a headache throughout the day and obviously with having the baby, wanted to be super careful, so I got tested.
“I had a couple more days of symptoms like body aches, a little congestion, loss of smell. It was crazy. It was frightening.”
Pollock and his wife recently had a baby who was born three months prematurely, so he believes he may have contracted coronavirus during one of his many visits to the hospital.
“I think I got it from the hospital. Me and Kate, for 120 days, we didn’t talk to anyone,” Pollock explained. “Literally just home, hospital, home, hospital. Frightening, but kind of in a weird way it might be a blessing. Now I’ve had it, have the antibodies for it and have some kind of defense now. Nothing is full and safe, but it’s safer.”
Everybody knows about the dangers of coronavirus at this point, and while Pollock dealt with some symptoms, it is good to see that he is back in camp and preparing for the season that is just around the corner.
While Pollock may be a bit behind his other teammates, he still will likely make the Opening Day roster. He showed some progress at the plate in Thursday night’s scrimmage, getting two hits including a double off the left-field wall.
He is expected to platoon with Joc Pederson in left field this season while also potentially seeing time in center field and designated hitter.
Pollock follows Jansen’s footsteps
While Lux declined to reveal the reason behind his late arrival, Pollock joined Jansen in revealing they had the coronavirus. Like Pollock, Jansen also voiced confidence in his conditioning and preparedness for the regular season.
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