Nationals outfielder Juan Soto tests positive for coronavirus

Juan Soto (Hunter Martin, Getty Images)

One of the best outfielders in Major League Baseball has coronavirus. Juan Soto of Santo Domingo, Domonican Republic tested positive for the disease on Thursday, just a few hours before the Nationals were to host the New York Yankees at Nationals Park in Washington, D.C., according to Allen Kim and Jacob Lev of CNN. 

The game has added significance. This will be the first game of the 2020 Major League Baseball regular season, the first game of importance since the 2019 World Series, which was won by the Nationals for the first time in franchise history, and Dr. Anthony Fauci, the American director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease, will throw out the opening pitch.

Soto is only 21 years of age, but has accomplished a significant amount already in his two years of Major League Baseball. In 2018, he was the rookie of the year, as Soto batted .292 with 22 home runs and 70 runs batted in. He was also second in the National League Rookie of the Year voting, as he lost to Ronald Acuna Jr. of the Atlanta Braves, another young sensational outfielder who has an immense amount of promise.

Then in 2019, Soto batted .282 with 34 home runs and 110 runs batted in. In 542 at bats, he scored 110 runs, and had 153 hits, 32 doubles, five triples, 12 stolen bases, 108 walks, a .401 on base percentage, .548 slugging percentage, 297 total bases, and six sacrifice flies.

In 2020, there will be more pressure on Soto, with Nationals slugger Anthony Rendon now with the Los Angeles Angels. However, Soto’s time in Washington for 2020 will now have to wait.