US baseball has a coronavirus problem

They’re trying to strike out coronavirus.

For the second time this spring training, the Boston Red Sox quarantined a player in wake of the virus outbreak.

Taiwanese pitcher Chih-Jung Liu has been bottled up in a Florida hotel room since his arrival from overseas, as the Red Sox are using “an overabundance of caution,” a team spokesperson told the Boston Globe.

Liu, 20, is the second Boston player to be quarantined by the organisation after fellow countryman, infielder Tzu-Wei Lin, was quarantined earlier this month due to worries over the virus that is believed to have originated in China.

According to reports as of Tuesday afternoon, the U.S. has had nearly 30 more confirmed cases of coronavirus than Taiwan. Over 79,000 people globally have been infected with the virus, according to health officials.

Pre-season has not been a smiling matter for the Boston Red Sox.Source:AFP

“I had been here for a week and they said I needed to go back to my apartment,” said the 26-year-old Lin. “I was fine. I stayed away for one day and that was it.”

It is unclear how long Liu has been quarantined, but he reportedly said on Facebook he feels fine and is scheduled to join the team Saturday.

Rated as Boston’s No. 17 prospect by MLB pipeline, Liu said he has been lightly working out, scouting the Sox and eating three delivered meals per day while being off the field, according to The Globe.

Sox.Source:AFP

Liu was signed to a one-year, $750,000 deal this offseason after starring as a two-way player in Taiwan, though it was his flame-throwing fastball that caught Boston’s attention. Liu hit 98 mph with his four-seamer in the fall, and won the Asian Baseball Championship with Chinese Taipei.

The Globe reported it is likely Liu will stay in extended spring training before being assigned to a minor league team.

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