Washington Nationals left fielder Juan Soto has tested positive for COVID-19. Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports

Nationals' Juan Soto will miss Opening Day after positive coronavirus test

By Zac Wassink | Last updated Jul 23, 2020 2:58 PM ET

Hours before the Washington Nationals begin the 60-game MLB regular season with an Opening Day showdown versus the New York Yankees, ESPN's Jeff Passan confirmed that Washington outfielder Juan Soto won't play because he's tested positive for the virus.

Washington Nationals star Juan Soto has tested positive for COVID-19 and will miss tonight's season opener against the New York Yankees, sources tell ESPN.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) July 23, 2020

Per ESPN, Soto missed the first two weeks of spring training 2.0 due to undisclosed reasons. The 21-year-old hit .282 with 34 home runs and 110 RBI in 150 games last season.

It's not known when Soto will be cleared to return to club activities.

Zac Wassink

Zac Wassink is a longtime sports news writer and PFWA member who began his career in 2006 and has had his work featured on Yardbarker, MSN, Yahoo Sports and Bleacher Report. He is also a football and futbol aficionado who is probably yelling about Tottenham Hotspur at the moment and who chanted for Matt Harvey to start the ninth inning of Game 5 of the 2015 World Series at Citi Field. You can find him on X at @ZacWassink

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