Ottavino won't have the clear path to serve as the Red Sox's Opening Day closer that it looked like he might have in recent days, as Matt Barnes' positive COVID-19 test was ruled a false positive Monday, Joel Sherman of the New York Post reports.
There's been very little to separate Ottavino and Barnes in recent seasons, and they've been similarly effective this spring, so it was tough to say either of them had much more than a 50 percent chance to win the job. Barnes' positive test seemingly opened an opportunity for Ottavino to open the year in the role, which could make it his until he pitched his way out of it. Now that Barnes is back in camp, however, the job looks like it's back to being a coin flip.