Jonathan Loaisiga, who could be activated by the Yankees to face the Red Sox this weekend, said his recent positive COVID-19 test was “very surprising” to him because he never had any symptoms.
Loaisiga, who threw a bullpen session at Yankee Stadium on Wednesday, said he was tested on July 10 because he was planning to travel to his native Nicaragua to visit his family during the All-Star break.
Instead, Loaisiga became the first of six Yankees to test positive during the team’s second outbreak of the season. Loaisiga had to quarantine in Houston before he and fellow COVID-positive reliever Wandy Peralta were allowed to travel to Austin, Texas, for three days of throwing at a facility chosen by Loaisiga’s agent.
Loaisiga, who is 7-3 with a 2.11 ERA and two saves, said through an interpreter that his biggest concerns during quarantine were being away from his team and the extreme boredom that inevitably set in.
“Very bored,” he said. “A lot of video games. A lot of TV series. My back was hurting just from laying down in bed all day long.”
Aaron Judge, Gio Urshela, Kyle Higashioka and Nestor Cortes Jr. are the other Yankees on the COVID-19 list.
Trainer’s room
DJ LeMahieu (stomach flu) returned to the lineup after missing one game . . . Chris Gittens (sore Achilles), who was available only in an emergency on Tuesday, was much improved on Wednesday . . . To make room for Asher Wojciechowski on the roster, INF/OF Hoy Park was optioned to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. Park had one hitless at-bat in his first big-league stint.
