After taking two additional tests, Juan Soto could be cleared to return if both tests return negative results. Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports

Nationals' Juan Soto could be cleared by MLB soon?

Originally posted on Larry Brown Sports | By Grey Papke | Last updated 7/25/20

Juan Soto appears to be inching closer to a return after being sidelined due to a positive coronavirus test.

According to Jesse Dougherty of the Washington Post, Soto received a lab-confirmed negative test result on Saturday. That test result was independent of MLB’s official protocol, but Soto has been tested twice by the league on Thursday and Friday. If both of those results come back negative, he could receive clearance to return.

Sources: Juan Soto received a lab-confirmed negative result this morning for a test that was administered Thursday. He needs one more negative result to be cleared to play, per MLB protocol. The tests have to be at least 24 hours apart.

— Jesse Dougherty (@dougherty_jesse) July 25, 2020

More here, per multiple sources: This most recent result was still independent of MLB's testing protocol, and the Nationals are waiting to hear on league-administered tests from both Thursday + Friday. If both come back negative, Soto could be cleared to play to play MLB.

— Jesse Dougherty (@dougherty_jesse) July 25, 2020

Since his initial positive, all of Soto’s tests have come back negative. It’s not clear when the MLB-administered test results are expected back, but he definitely won’t be available Saturday night against the New York Yankees.

Soto hit .282 with 34 home runs, 110 RBI and an OPS of .949 last year, emerging as a star for the World Series winners.

This article first appeared on Larry Brown Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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