Astros Cancel Workout After Potential COVID-19 Exposure

The Astros canceled Saturday's workout at Minute Maid Park after a staff member was potentially exposed to COVID-19.

General manager James Click released a statement Saturday morning and called the club's decision a "precautionary measure."

"As part of MLB's testing and reporting plan, we were alerted that a staff member was potentially exposed to a COVID-positive individual outside the organization. Out of an abundance of caution, we have canceled today's workout. We are working closely with MLB and our team physicians to follow the established testing and cleaning protocols so that we can safely bring our players and staff back to the field as soon as possible," Click said in the statement.

Saturday's cancellation marks the club's second this week after it shut down Monday's workout due to delayed coronavirus test results. The Nationals and Cardinals were also forced to cancel their workouts on Monday, while the Angels pushed theirs back by several hours so testers would be on-site when players arrived.

BACCELLIERI: Will MLB's Testing Plan Sink Its Season?

Several teams' coronavirus tests around were delayed last weekend due to the July 4 holiday. Some players have expressed frustration about the reliability of MLB's tests, while the accuracy of some tests came into question following unreliable results.

MLB announced Friday that 58 players and six staff members tested positive for COVID-19 through July 9. Of the 3,748 samples tested, 1.8% came back positive. A player or staff member had tested positive on 27 of 30 teams.

Due to COVID-19 concerns, several players have opted out of the shortened 2020 season, including Buster Posey, David Price and Ian Desmond.