MLB Denies Hunter Renfroe's 'Completely Wrong' Claim About Red Sox's COVID-19 Testing

Major League Baseball quickly pushed back against claims made by Boston Red Sox outfielder Hunter Renfroe alleging the league told his club to stop testing for COVID-19 amid a recent outbreak. 

Speaking to WEEI's Merloni & Fauria show Thursday, Renfroe was asked if MLB wanted the Red Sox to halt testing procedures:

“[Renfroe] is completely wrong and inaccurate," a league spokesperson told the Boston Globe's Julian McWilliams following the interview. 

The Red Sox also refuted their player, telling MassLive's Chris Cotillo they have stuck to MLB's guidelines.

“We have been following MLB’s COVID-19 protocols all season long," the team said. "We have consulted closely with them on everything we’ve done and continue to test and their medical staff has been very supportive.”

Boston remains one of the MLB clubs below the 85 percent vaccination threshold. 

In the last week or so, at least nine people have tested positive for the coronavirus and 11 more have been held out with symptoms or because they were deemed as close contacts. That includes star players like Xander Bogaerts, Nick Pivetta, Christian Arroyo and Kike Hernandez.

Per MLB's health and safety guidelines:

"Frequent PCR testing will be administered by the Sports Medicine Research and Testing Laboratory on saliva samples collected via the Spectrum Solutions SDNA-100 saliva collection kits. Players and other on-field personnel will continue be tested at least every other day throughout Spring Training, the 2021 Championship Season, and (as applicable) the postseason. Daily symptom screens and temperature checks will be recorded at least twice daily. As a supplement to routine Monitoring Testing, accurate and reliable point-of-care testing will also be available to all Clubs at home and on the road."

"Individuals who test positive will be required to isolate for a minimum of 10 days, receive appropriate care and monitoring from the Club medical staff, and be cleared by the Joint Committee and the individual’s team physician, following a mandatory cardiac evaluation and a determination that the individual no longer presents a risk of infection to others."

This may not be the end of this storyline as Renfroe will likely be asked to further explain his comments.