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Last Friday, Pedro Strop and two members of the Cleveland Indians, Jose Ramirez and Franmil Reyes, went to dinner, breaking MLB’s COVID-19 protocols.
Strop was sent home from Cubs camp, but returned Tuesday. This morning, he offered an apology:
Pedro Strop extremely apologetic for breaking protocols a few days ago by going inside for dinner: "I made a mistake. I want to take the chance to apologize. The rules are there for a reason. I didn't mean to expose my teammates and others to Covid."
— Jesse Rogers (@JesseRogersESPN) March 11, 2021
Strop has tested negative
Strop:"The pandemic has been so long that sometimes you go through the motions and go to dinner. At the same time we didn't realize we were making a big mistake..It's a good thing it didn't go farther. We don't know if others (who break rules) are going to run into the same luck"
— Jesse Rogers (@JesseRogersESPN) March 11, 2021
I’m not going to judge Strop for making this mistake, because he’s been an outstanding member of the Cubs for several years and well-respected by everyone in the organization. He seems sincere in his apology. But this incident does point out the need for everyone in baseball to follow the protocols.
Strop has yet to pitch in a spring training game. While he’s in camp on a minor-league deal, I would think that if he’s healthy — something he really hasn’t been since that hamstring pull running the bases in Washington in 2018 — and shows well in spring games, he has a real chance of making the Opening Day roster.
As always, we await developments.