White Sox game postponed due to Cleveland Guardians COVID outbreak

The Cleveland Guardians-Chicago White Sox game on Wednesday has been postponed due to multiple positive COVID-19 cases within the Cleveland organization.

As of now, it doesn’t appear COVID-19 has spread throughout the locker room to any of the players, rather limiting the exposure to the Guardians’ traveling coaching staff. This includes Guardians manager Terry Francona.

The White Sox announced the game was postponed on Wednesday afternoon. It is the first game of the 2022 season to be postponed due to COVID-19.

“Following multiple positive COVID-19 tests within the Cleveland Guardians organization, today’s game has been postponed to allow for continued testing and contact tracing. Major League Baseball will provide a rescheduling update when it becomes available,” The White Sox said in a statement.

White Sox-Guardians game postponed due to COVID-19

While the protocol has lightened some this year, Wednesday’s news is an important reminder that COVID-19 concerns still persist in sports. Francona, himself a cancer survivor, is at increased risk of the virus.

Current MLB protocols stats  “MLB intends to postpone games only if necessary to protect the health and safety of Club personnel, players and umpires. Games will not be postponed for competitive reasons provided the Club has a sufficient number of players available to substitute those players on the Active Roster who are unavailable to play as a result of COVID-19.”

Cleveland only has one player on the COVID-19 IL right now, and that’s Yu Chang, who has been there since mid-April. The identities of other players/staff involved remain private at this time.