New Tiger veterans Francisco Rodriguez and Mike Aviles were absent from TigerFest on Saturday, missing the event for personal reasons according to general manager Al Avila. Bruce Rondon, meanwhile, was kept back in Florida because he’s dealing with a virus.
The virus supposedly came from a mosquito bite back in Venezuela, according to Avila. Reports earlier this week identified it as the Chikungunya virus. There are various viruses being spread around Venezuela and South America; the Zika virus has been in the news lately because it prompted the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to issue a travel alert.