#Braves catchers stay home with coronavirus-like symptoms

Another day Opening Day, another COVID-19 hiccup for an MLB team.

The Braves did not receive any positive tests Friday morning, as the Nationals did Thursday with Juan Soto, but they opened the season at Citi Field without their top two catchers, who were left behind in Atlanta after experiencing symptoms of the virus.

Neither ex-Met Travis d’Arnaud nor Tyler Flowers have tested positive for COVID-19, but neither woke up Friday feeling symptom-free. So the Braves were forced to call up Alex Jackson, who drew the start behind the plate, and prospect William Conteras in time for a 1-0 loss to the Mets at Citi Field.

“They’ve just got to feel better,” Braves manager Brian Snitker told reporters before the game. “I don’t know it’s not just a bad cold or something you would get. But in these times, the red flag goes up and you’re cautious. If this had happened a year ago today, we’d bring them in, treat them and who knows, they’d probably still be available.”

These are not normal times, though, as the Braves know firsthand. Their star first baseman, Freddie Freeman, tested positive for COVID-19 at the start of spring training 2.0 and had a fever as high as 104.5 degrees.

The 30-year-old Freeman recovered in time to be in the Braves’ lineup Friday, but said he addressed his teammates about being honest regarding how they were feeling. With that in mind, d’Arnaud and Flowers did not make the trip to New York.

“I wasn’t shocked to hear it, because we had heard the past couple days [Flowers and d’Arnaud] had had some symptoms,” Freeman said. “Unfortunately, I think this is what is going to happen. There’s no such thing as a common cold anymore. So, if you have symptoms, this is what is going to happen.”

Even on a day when MLB announced good news on its new league-wide testing numbers — just six positive tests (four players, two staff members) from 10,939 samples in the past week — the Braves’ predicament served as another reminder of what playing a season during a pandemic will be like.

“If I hadn’t said anything, I would have infected this whole team,” Freeman said. “So, I applaud [d’Arnaud and Flowers] for being truthful. It’s tough when you lose your two catchers. But no one is going to feel sorry for us. The Nationals didn’t have Juan Soto [Thursday] night. It’s going to be happening throughout the course of this year.”