Report: Juan Soto has tested negative on instant coronavirus tests

Juan Soto’s 2020 MLB season debut was spoiled on Thursday when he tested positive for the coronavirus, but there could be a reason for some optimism.

Soto, who is said to be asymptomatic, reportedly had multiple negative coronavirus tests when he did instant tests. The instant-result tests were saliva and nasal, according to Jesse Dougherty.

This does not clear Juan Soto to play tonight or in the coming days. He still needs to receive back-to-back negative results through the labs MLB has contracted to process samples. Those tests have to be at least 24 hours apart.

— Jesse Dougherty (@dougherty_jesse) July 23, 2020

Soto testing negative on the followup tests could mean that his original test was a false positive. He will need multiple negative tests through MLB’s testing in order to be cleared to return to the Washington Nationals, who lost to the New York Yankees 4-1 in a rain-shortened game on Thursday.

Soto hit .282 with 34 home runs, 110 RBIs and an OPS of .949 last year. The 21-year-old recently spoke about how difficult it was for him to get his swings in during the quarantine.