Yoán Moncada has spent the past couple of months working out in what he called a “controlled and limited environment” in Florida, where the Chicago White Sox slugger could continue to get at-bats while protecting himself from the coronavirus.
That’s a good description of the environment that greeted him upon his return to the Windy City.
Players began reporting to their teams and home ballparks Wednesday in the most significant step yet as Major League Baseball presses ahead with its plan for a 60-game sprint of a season. Most players underwent a battery of health checks, not only for COVID-19 but also for any other lingering ailments from spring training, ahead of planned workouts beginning Friday and Saturday.
“We were doing workouts by time, you know? You have to reserve a time. I wasn’t interacting with a lot of people there,” Moncada said of his sessions in Florida. “The last couple of weeks, I started lifting a little bit. I was hitting with limitations that we had during this situation. But I feel good. I’m ready to go.”
Much like other clubs, the White Sox intend to split their 60-man roster into two groups, one working out in the morning and the other in the afternoon. All players will have their temperatures checked multiple times each day, observe increased social distancing and get accustomed to stringent safeguards that MLB has put into place for the season.