Red Sox place Enrique Hernández and Rich Hill on the COVID list

Earlier on Friday, it was reported by Alex Speier that the Red Sox were calling Jarren Duran back up to the majors, and later clarified that he’d be taking the spot of Enrique Hernández, who is away from the team with an illness. Now, that move is official, and it’s not just Hernández. Both he and Rich Hill have been placed on the COVID list ahead of Friday’s game against the White Sox, with Duran coming up along with righty John Schreiber. As a point of clarification, neither Hernández nor Hill have tested positive as of yet, but are showing symptoms and will be away from the team as they await more testing.

We talked about the Duran promotion this morning, and he will indeed be in the lineup on Friday, leading off and playing center field. As for Schreiber, this will be his second stint in the majors this season, each time replacing a pitcher who was placed on the COVID list. He made two appearances in that stint, not allowing a run over 2 ¹⁄₃ innings, striking out one and not issuing a walk. In Triple-A he has pitched to a 1.46 ERA over 12 ¹⁄₃ innings this season, striking out 15 while issuing just three walks.

Again, neither Hernández nor Hill have tested positive, so it’s possible that this could be a very short time away from the team for both. In Schreiber’s case, he will likely head back down whenever Hill returns as he will technically not be occupying a 40-man spot when the veteran comes back. Duran, though, will probably stay up even after Hernández comes back. I find it hard to imagine he was only called up for potentially a day or two.