MESA, Ariz. — Cubs pitcher Yu Darvish, who earlier this week talked about fears of the new coronavirus, took himself out of Thursday’s scheduled spring start because he felt ill and went to a local hospital for tests and treatment.
In tweets from the hospital Thursday morning, Darvish said in Japanese that he had been coughing since Wednesday and didn’t want to be in the clubhouse because he couldn’t be certain he didn’t have the coronavirus. He also said in a tweet that he didn’t have a fever.
The likelihood Darvish has contracted the COVID-19 strain of the virus blamed for at least 11 deaths in the U.