At the beginning of the MLB shutdown, about 40 Pirates initially stayed in Bradenton. However, as COVID-19, or coronavirus, has spread to a pandemic, most have gone home by this point.
While each state and country has been impacted and responded differently to coronavirus, the Pirates are giving a consistent message to their players.
"The advice is to stay home," Pirates director of sports medicine, Todd Tomczyk, said in a conference call Wednesday afternoon. "Listen to the CDC [Center of Disease Control and Prevention] and all the infectious disease experts. The advice is to get outdoors and walk your dogs, but if you get outdoors and exercise, practice the social distancing."
For the few Pirates who have remained in Bradenton, there have been light workouts happening three times a week. They have been conducted one-on-one with the same strength coach and player, exclusively at Pirate City.
"We're making sure that we're protecting the safety and security of our coaching staff, our players," Tomczyk said.
Since players cannot go to public gyms at this time, that does create challenges for players to stay in shape. As Tomczyk pointed out, though, athletes excel at adapting, so the medical staff has been in contact with players every day to come up with new workout plans.
“One of our main messages is just being transparent, being collaborative and being open to new ideas and new things, as this is all uncharted for all of us," Tomczyk said.
More from Tomczyk:
• Steven Brault and Clay Holmes are among those who have remained in Bradenton to continue to get individualized care.
Brault (left shoulder strain) has not resumed throwing yet. He was shut down on Mar. 2 for a period of at least two weeks and has not pitched in a game since Feb. 28, though he has regained strength in his lower body.
"He's making the necessary bio-mechanical adjustments that are needed for him to continue to move forward and get ready for the season to come," Tomczyk said.
Holmes (right fibula fracture) is scheduled to get another image of his foot later this week. The bone is healing well and the team has started him on a one-knee throwing program. He's now throwing from 75-90 feet.
• Of course Brault and Holmes would not have been ready for original start of the regular season, Mar. 26. Because of the shutdown, they've got a shot at being on the opening day active roster again.
"There's more motivation [for their rehab] now due to this postponement," Tomczyk said.
• Jameson Taillon has hit another milestone in his rehab, progressing his throwing program to 120 feet. That's a bump up from 105 feet, which he started two weeks ago.
• The Pirates are going to continue to have light workouts in Bradenton, but if it ever reaches a point where a player or coach is in danger, or if social distancing is not safe enough, they will shut them down.
• A reminder that the Pirates were taking coronavirus seriously before it threatened to end spring training or delay the start of the season, deep cleaning their spring training facilities on Mar. 3 after the first reported case in the area. They deep cleaned again shortly after the shutdown began, too, which was in addition to their normal daily and monthly cleanings of the facility in general.
"Prior to COVID-19, our sanitation policies and procedures were pretty extensive," Tomczyk said. "Due to the virus, it was probably ramped up a little bit more frequently."