Washington Nationals star will miss Opening Day game after testing positive for coronavirus, GM confirms
Soto was an instrumental player for the Nationals during their World Series championship last season
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Washington Nationals star Juan Soto will miss the team’s Opening Day game against the New York Yankees on Thursday after testing positive for the coronavirus, according to an initial ESPN report.
Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo confirmed the news, a team spokesman tells Fox News.
WASHINGTON NATIONALS: 2020 CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC-SHORTENED SEASON OUTLOOK
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Soto, the Nationals’ starting left fielder, was an instrumental player for the team during their World Series championship run last year. He finished the 2019 MLB season with a .282 batting average, 34 home runs, and 110 RBIs. Soto finished among the top 10 in the league’s MVP voting.
It is not clear how much time Soto will miss.
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The Nationals will look to repeat as World Series champions in the pandemic-shortened 2020 season. Washington caught lightning in a bottle last year and rode it all the way into October.
Washington was 27-33 through 60 games last season and still managed to win the World Series. Anything could happen this year, especially with the uncertainty of the coronavirus pandemic.