Just two days before Opening Day, Rockies relievers Lucas Gilbreath and Robert Stephenson had the unfortunate luck of landing on the COVID-19 injury list.
With the team hopping aboard a plane heading back to Denver and the duo unable to join their teammates, a precarious situation began to develop.
“I was like, ‘Okay, I guess we’re stuck in Arizona,’” Stephenson said on Friday on his first day back in the clubhouse since his illness.
Both pitchers were at the Rockies Spring Training facility on April 6 when they tested positive for COVID.
“I woke up the day before the team was leaving to go here and I felt horrible,” Stephenson recalled. “So I was like, ‘Well, this is probably bad news.’”
What ensued after was an epic road trip back to Colorado for Stephenson and Gilbreath – that’s about a thirteen hour drive. “It wasn’t that bad with two people and luckily the scenery is not too bad,” he said.
They made the best of a bad situation. “Stephenson was the road trip DJ, so he was he was killing it the whole time,” said Gilbreath. “It was pretty fun it for the circumstances. Obviously nothing was ideal.”
At least they had each other. The two shared driving duties for the duration so no one got too tired, plus they could stay active while sidelined. “Having someone to throw with, obviously, was helpful,” Stephenson said.
The drive was fine. The fatigue afterwards – not so much.
“I will say, the first couple days playing catch, I was, ‘Man, I am winded.’ I think it’s a combination of altitude plus COVID. Took a little bit to get my energy back, but I feel good.”
Stephenson didn’t mince words about the disappointment of missing Opening day: ”It sucked.”
It would have been his first proper opener at Coors Field.
“Obviously I was here for Opening Day last year, but it was 25% capacity. So it would have been cool to be here,” he said. Instead, he watched from home. “It looked like a pretty good time out here.”
Still, Stephenson isn’t sure what his timetable will be or if he’ll have to return to Albuquerque on a rehab assignment.
“Today was just the first day I was allowed to come back into the clubhouse,” he said on Friday. “I’m still waiting to see what the plan is.”
In many ways, we all are waiting, Robert.
