The Cincinnati Reds placed outfielder Stuart Fairchild and left-hander Alex Young on the COVID-19 list on Saturday.
Young turned 30 on Saturday.
Their positive tests increased Cincinnati’s total to six over the past nine days. Players on the COVID-19 list must miss at least seven days.
The Reds who previously tested positive were left-hander Brandon Williamson and right-handers Hunter Greene, Ben Lively and Fernando Cruz.
Cruz was activated from the list on Friday. Greene is expected to be activated Sunday to start against the St. Louis Cardinals.
Greene tested positive in San Francisco and remained in the Bay Area when the team departed town.
“It hits everybody differently, but I was down pretty good,” Greene said, according to the Cincinnati Enquirer. “Fortunately, I was able to bounce back in my last two or three days before coming back here.
“People understand that obviously with the years that have gone by (since the height of the pandemic in 2020), everybody responds differently. Some people can get through it and then others it hits them harder. Hopefully, those guys are able to come back quick and get back to it.”
Reds manager David Bell was optimistic that the team’s outbreak was over before Fairchild and Young tested positive.
“I was hopeful that we weren’t going to have any more cases pop up,” Bell said, “so that was concerning. It’s really unpredictable.”
Fairchild, 27, is batting .223 with five homers and 27 RBIs in 88 games this season.
Young is 4-2 with a 3.31 ERA in 57 relief appearances.
Cincinnati recalled second baseman Alejo Lopez from Triple-A Louisville. The 27-year-old was batting .279 with seven homers and 39 RBIs in 112 games with the Bats.
–Field Level Media