Yankees' Gleyber Torres tests positive for COVID as team deals with 'breakthrough' cases

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New York Yankees shortstop Gleyber Torres tested positive for the coronavirus despite being among those on the team who were fully vaccinated and having previously contracted the illness during the offseason.

Torres is among the eight members of the organization who have had so-called "breakthrough" cases. The Centers for Disease Control describe "breakthrough cases" as those who contract COVID-19 while they are fully vaccinated. The CDC said it expected there "will be a small percentage of people who are fully vaccinated who still get sick, are hospitalized, or die from COVID-19."

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Torres was placed on the COVID-19 injured list

Yankees pitching coach Matt Blake, third base coach Phil Nevin, first base coach Reggie Willits and four traveling staff also tested positive. The team said all those affected were under quarantine protocols in Tampa, Florida.

MLB, its medical experts and the New York State Department of Health are currently advising the Yankees on the matter. The team said it is undergoing additional testing and contact tracing.

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According to the Yankees’ team site, Yankees players and coaches received the Johnson & Johnson single-shot vaccine on April 7 and the team crossed the 85% threshold needed to allow relaxed coronavirus stipulations in the clubhouse.

Janssen Americas, which is owned by Johnson & Johnson, provided Fox News with a statement on Thursday.

"There is no greater priority than the safety and well-being of the people we serve, and we carefully review all reports of adverse events in individuals receiving our medicines and vaccines," a spokesperson at Janssen said. "This involves closely monitoring real-world data for vaccinated individuals who may experience breakthrough infections with COVID-19. No COVID-19 vaccine is 100% effective in preventing infection. 

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"However, our authorized COVID-19 vaccine has been shown to help prevent infection and reduce the severity of illness, which is why authorized COVID-19 vaccines are such an important tool to help end the pandemic."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.