The Chicago Cubs on Friday told reporters that manager David Ross and team president Jed Hoyer are quarantining after each tested positive for COVID-19. According to the club, Ross and Hoyer are feeling fine, and both were vaccinated. While Ross is out -- likely for at least 10 days -- former Padres manager and current Cubs bench coach Andy Green will manage the team.
All Cubs players were available for Friday's day game against the Pirates. "At this point, all of his (Ross) close contacts have been tested and we have no positive tests within the clubhouse," Green said on Friday. "We hope all of us stay healthy and continue to test negative.
"We're going to try and reduce our time in the clubhouse over the coming week, try to mitigate the spread of it as much as possible."
The Cubs are among the handful of MLB teams that have failed to achieve an 85 percent vaccination rate within the roster.
While breakthrough cases of COVID, such as the ones experienced by Ross and Hoyer, are possible with the delta variant that's circulating widely in the U.S., the vaccines still offer exceptionally strong protection against hospitalization and death, especially relative to the unvaccinated population.
The Cubs entered Friday's slate with a record of 60-75. They're in fourth place in the NL Central and 22 games behind the division-leading Brewers. At the July 30 trade deadline, Chicago underwent a fire sale that included trading longtime franchise players Anthony Rizzo, Kris Bryant and Javier Báez in a 24-hour span.
