Freeman among four Braves to test positive for virus

Under MLB protocol, no team can release the names of players who test positive unless they're given expressed permission by the player. Smith, who turns 31 on July 10, posted a 6-0 record with a 2.76 ERA and 34 saves in 63 appearances last season with the San Francisco Giants.

Four-time All-Star first baseman Freddie Freeman is one of four members of the Atlanta Braves to test positive for the coronavirus, manager Brian Snitker announced Saturday. Relief pitchers Will Smith and Touki Toussaint as well as shortstop Pete Kozma have all tested positive for COVID-19, per Snitker.

Snitker said the 30-year-old Freeman is battling a fever and it could be "a while" before he returns. He batted .295 last season while recording career highs in homers (38) and RBIs (121). Freeman's wife, Chelsea, wrote in a Twitter post that the virus hit her husband "like a ton of bricks," despite being careful to avoid situations where he could be exposed to the virus. She added that he had "body aches, headaches, chills and a high fever."

Smith and Toussaint are asymptomatic while Kozma, who is a member of the club's satellite roster, has experienced symptoms. Under MLB protocol, no team can release the names of players who test positive unless they're given expressed permission by the player.

Smith, who turns 31 on July 10, posted a 6-0 record with a 2.76 ERA and 34 saves in 63 appearances last season with the San Francisco Giants. He made the All-Star team for the first time. Toussaint, 24, sported a 4-0 mark with a 5.62 ERA in 24 appearances last season with the Braves.

Kozma, 32, did not play in the majors in 2019. He has suited up for 341 career games with the St. Louis Cardinals, New York Yankees, Texas Rangers and Detroit Tigers. --Field Level Media

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