Juan Soto returned to the Washington Nationals Saturday after sitting out the start of the season due to a positive test for COVID-19. Following the club’s intrasquad scrimmage, Soto told reporters he believes he had a false positive, per Byron Kerr of MASN Sports.
“For me in my mind, it was a fake positive. I’ve been working on it. I’ve been tested a bunch of times negative. I’ve been following the rules, being in the right spot. And I think that’s why I think it was fake positive. I’ve been really serious with this.”
The Nationals cleared Soto Thursday to resume workouts. He had multiple negative tests on his own, and then by team officials. But, he needed to wait for clearance from the team, league, Washington, DC health officials.
Soto maintained a workout routine while watching the Nationals on TV in isolation.
It’s unclear if Soto will be able to play in the Nationals’ next scheduled game Tuesday against the New York Mets.
Washington was set to travel to Miami to play the Marlins this weekend for a three-game series. However, Nationals players voted to not travel to Florida. MLB ultimately cancelled the series after the Marlins had a coronavirus outbreak.
Soto has emerged as a budding star for the Nationals. He hit .287/.401/.548 with 56 home runs and 180 runs batted in his first two seasons.
Soto’s bat will be surely welcomed whenever he is able to play. The defending World Series champions have staggered out of the gate with a 3-4 record to start the 2020 season.
