Texas Rangers Slugger Joey Gallo Cleared for Team Workouts After Testing Positive for COVID-19

Texas Rangers star outfielder Joey Gallo has been cleared to participate in workouts at Globe Life Field after testing positive for COVID-19 last week.

ARLINGTON, Texas — Texas Rangers star outfielder Joey Gallo has been cleared to participate in workouts at Globe Life Field after initially testing positive for COVID-19 on June 29.

It took only four days from the time the Rangers first announced Gallo's positive test to clear him for workouts. Gallo originally tested positive with the MLB-mandated saliva test on June 29. However, a nasal swab taken on June 30 came back negative. After waiting 48 hours, Gallo took another saliva test that came back positive on July 5, which was subsequently announced by the club (with his permission) on July 6. 

According to Major League Baseball's intake testing protocol, if a player tests positive for COVID-19, they must have two negative tests for COVID-19 spaced 24 hours apart before they can return to the team.

MLB's intake testing process has been under fire over the past several days, which Sports Illustrated's Emma Baccellieri fully detailed in Friday's Daily Cover story. Some of the issues with the testing process includes testers not showing up or tests not being shipped to MLB's lab in Utah. Rangers General Manager Jon Daniels confirmed on Monday that only the false negative on June 30 contributed to the delay of announcing his positive test. 

However, another issue has been the accuracy of the tests coming into question. It is still not certain if that played a role in this process with Gallo.

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