Los Angeles Angels acting pitching coach Matt Wise has tested positive for the coronavirus but all players and coaches who had contact with him tested negative Saturday, manager Joe Maddon told reporters.
The 45-year-old Wise “feels great,” Maddon said during a Zoom conference from the Angels spring training complex in Tempe, Arizona.
Under Major League Baseball’s coronavirus protocols, Wise will be required to isolate for a minimum of 10 days. The protocols also require him to be cleared by MLB’s Joint COVID-19 Health and Safety Committee, the Angels’ team physician, following a mandatory cardiac evaluation and a determination that he no longer presents a risk of infection to others before he can resume his duties.
During Wise’s absence, his duties will be divided among bullpen coach Dom Chiti and the Angels’ minor league pitching coaches and coordinators, Maddon said.
Wise had been the Angels’ bullpen coach in 2020. He was appointed acting pitching coach earlier this month after Mickey Callaway was suspended by the team Feb. 2, one day after the sports news website The Athletic reported he made unsolicited advances to five women who worked in sports media.
