Red Sox' Eduardo Rodriguez, Bobby Dalbec Test Positive For COVID-19

BOSTON (CBS) -- Red Sox pitcher Eduardo Rodriguez and infield prospect Bobby Dalbec have both tested positive for COVID-19, manager Ron Roenicke confirmed on Tuesday.

The players become the third and fourth members of the Red Sox roster to test positive, after Josh Taylor and Darwinzon Hernandez tested positive as well.

Both Rodriguez and Dalbec had been kept away from the Red Sox' workouts at Fenway Park as they awaited their test results.

Rodriguez suffered from some symptoms but is improving, while Dalbec is asymptomatic, according to Roenicke.

Rodriguez hopes to be able to be able to pitch for the Red Sox on Opening Day, but with July 24 less than two weeks away, the positive test and the symptoms put that timeline in jeopardy.

Rodriguez, 27, went 19-6 with a 3.81 ERA last season, a year in which he earned some Cy Young votes. That continued his progress from 2018, when he went 13-5 with a 3.82 ERA. With Chris Sale missing the season after undergoing Tommy John surgery, Rodriguez had been in line to be Boston's Opening Day starter.

The 25-year-old Dalbec is considered one of the Red Sox' top prospects. A fourth-round pick in 2016, he batted .239 with an .816 OPS in 135 games combined between Double-A Portland and Triple-A Pawtucket last year.

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