Thursday’s Yankees-Red Sox game postponed as three Yankees players test positive for COVID-19

Major League Baseball has postponed Thursday night’s matchup between the Yankees and Red Sox, meaning the All-Star break fully extends into Friday, as the AL East matchup was the only game scheduled for the night. The Yankees are dealing with their second COVID-19 outbreak of the season despite the organization being over the 85 percent vaccination threshold in both cases.

Yankees relievers Jonathan Loaisiga and Wandy Peralta and swingman Nestor Cortes are confirmed to have tested positive for the coronavirus, though all three are vaccinated and are not experiencing severe symptoms, per GM Brian Cashman. The team has another three players who are in protocols but have not yet been confirmed to have the virus.

It should be interesting to see if Major League Baseball tightens protocols again as cases tick up across the United States and the Delta variant begins to take its toll. This is the first time since April 19 — and essentially the first time since most players’ COVID vaccines kicked in — that Major League Baseball has postponed a game due to COVID-19 concerns. It’s the eighth game overall that has been postponed for this reason.