Juan Soto’s positive coronavirus test shakes Nationals’ sense of security

Soto’s teammates clung to the possibility that he had received a false positive. They heard Soto, 21, was asymptomatic. They heard he took multiple instant-result tests that came back negative. They had recently found a rhythm and gained some comfort in starting a season during the coronavirus pandemic, but now, with the sudden news, they were again left hoping it could all work.

“It was really, really surprising, and it was kind of an unfortunate reminder of just how dangerous …” Nationals closer Sean Doolittle said before trailing off Thursday night. Washington had lost to the New York Yankees, 4-1, in a game shortened by a severe storm. Doolittle had not pitched but still looked slumped and spent in a Zoom call with reporters. “ … and just how you can be doing all the right things and here could still be a positive test.”

A handful of Nationals agree on this group of facts: Soto followed MLB’s protocols. He wore a mask whenever inside at Nationals Park. When away from the stadium, he was cautious and mostly isolated inside his apartment. And he still tested positive.

This is another illustration of how fragile and fraught this restart plan is. Soto’s last lab-confirmed negative result came from a saliva sample collected Sunday morning. Since, he was around his teammates for four full days before the positive result arrived. He played in two exhibitions — one in Baltimore, the other at home — and participated in two workouts. The Nationals have not quarantined anyone after contact tracing, according to people with knowledge of the situation, and yet there are many causes for concern.

On Thursday afternoon, Manager Dave Martinez expressed his own doubts. He figured he would feel better once the most recent round of results were in. If everyone else was negative, maybe Soto had not passed the virus to any coaches, players or staff. But those players, coaches and staffers could have contracted the virus this week, receive a negative result Saturday, as Martinez hoped, and still test positive in the coming days.

One of the scariest part of the virus is how little is certain. The Nationals keep learning that first hand.

“It just shows you it can happen to anybody and why we have to follow the protocols as well as we do,” Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer said. “Because we can’t control somebody from actually contracting it. Our biggest concern is preventing the spread.”

Summer training began with a round of hiccups. MLB was relying on one Salt Lake City lab to process thousands of samples a week. Just days into the process, multiple teams, including the Nationals, had to cancel workouts because of a lag in results. Both Doolittle and General Manager Mike Rizzo made pointed statements, saying baseball had to clean up the system before it was too late.

And it did. On Wednesday, Doolittle gave MLB credit for turning around tests within 48 hours. It helped that a second lab was contracted at Rutgers University in New Jersey. But frequent testing and quick results can go only so far. Soto’s case shows that, even with smart behavior, there are ways to contract the virus and perhaps unknowingly spread it to teammates for days before the result comes in.

In a response to Soto’s positive result, the Nationals administered three instant-result antigen tests Thursday. That included both saliva samples and a nasal swab. The antigen tests have a high rate of false negatives, according to public health experts, but Washington was encouraged by the three consecutive negatives. As of now, per MLB protocols, Soto still will need back-to-back lab-confirmed negatives before returning to the field. Those tests have to be administered at least 24 hours apart.

“It was like a really harsh reminder of just how tenuous the situation is,” Doolittle said. “Trying to play a baseball season during a pandemic that we’ve seen … what did we … how many cases do we have in the country?”

“Yeah, we just passed that today. So, you know, it feels like we’ve done a good job these last few weeks of controlling all the things that we can control, to use a baseball analogy here,” Doolittle continued. “It was, uh . . . we were really surprised because guys have been really good with distancing in the clubhouse and mask wearing and guys have been taking it seriously and we’ve bought in because they want this to work. It was really shocking.”

Shock and surprise are troubling variables. They’re also common these days. Soto tested negative four times before Thursday. But it was the fifth test, the one that came back positive, that shook the Nationals’ vague sense of security.

Next they will see how fast Soto can return. Then a full season rests beyond that.

“You definitely worry,” Martinez said Thursday afternoon on how Soto’s situation could put others in danger. “This is the importance of wearing our masks throughout. I don’t go anywhere except in this room. I have my mask on 24/7 to protect myself and to protect other people because you just don’t know. I know we’ve got to go through this contact tracing now. Hopefully nobody contracted anything and he’s the only one that has to go through this.”