Yasiel Puig tests positive for COVID-19, will not sign with the Braves for the moment

The Braves found themselves in need of a real bat, particularly against righties, in the wake of Freddie Freeman testing positive for COVID-19 and Nick Markakis opting out of the 2020 season. Once their top prospect, outfielder Cristian Pache, got dinged up in a scrimmage, the urgency was heightened a bit and the team was aggressive in targeting the best bat left on the free agent market in Yasiel Puig.

The only hurdle left to getting Puig in a Braves uniform was his physical including getting tested for COVID-19 and...well...

Given that Puig tested positive for COVID-19, it is hardly surprising that the Braves are, at least for the moment, passing on signing him. Some guys that test positive get it cleared out of their system quickly, other times it can take weeks or months even without symptoms. The Braves aren’t going to sign a deal with a guy not knowing how much they will even have him on the field, so for now Puig remains a free agent and he is headed for quarantine. The upside here is that he is asymptomatic, so at the very least it seems like he shouldn’t have to deal with the more serious symptoms.

Just because he tested positive doesn’t mean that Puig to Atlanta is not going to happen, though. If in a week or two, he gets two negative tests in a row, it wouldn’t be shocking to see the Braves and Puig revisit an agreement. However, with the delay, it does mean that other teams can also still jump in. These are weird and scary times we live in.