Unnamed Tigers Player, Non-Baseball Staff Member Test Positive for COVID-19

Detroit Tigers general manager Al Avila told reporters Wednesday that an unnamed Tigers player and non-baseball staff member have tested positive for COVID-19.

According to MLB.com's Jason Beck, Avila noted the player was in Florida but wasn't present at the Tigers' training facility in Lakeland. Avila also said the player is still recovering, as he was recently diagnosed.

MLB's operations have been suspended since March because of the coronavirus pandemic, but the owners and the MLBPA agreed on a league-imposed schedule of 60 games per team Tuesday, and the 2020 season is set to begin July 23 or 24.

Players are scheduled to report to training camps July 1, and they will likely be held in the teams' home cities after spring training sites in Arizona and Florida were shut down amid recent spikes in COVID-19 cases.

Most notably, 12 Philadelphia Phillies players and staff members tested positive for COVID-19, as did three Colorado Rockies players.

MLB has some protocols in place meant to keep the season going in case of positive coronavirus tests. Per ESPN's Jeff Passan, teams will be allowed to place players on a COVID-19 injured list. Unlike the normal injured list that requires a 10-day stay, there will be no minimum or maximum stints on the COVID-19 IL.

The Tigers finished with an MLB-worst 47-114 record last season and have failed to reach the playoffs in each of the past five seasons after making it four years in a row from 2011 to 2014.

Detroit is expected to be among the league's worst teams again in 2020, as it didn't make a significant splash during the offseason aside from value signings such as catcher Austin Romine, first baseman C.J. Cron, second baseman Jonathan Schoop and outfielder Cameron Maybin.

Although expectations aren't high for the Tigers, the truncated 60-game season could open the door for some surprise teams to get hot early and qualify for the playoffs.