Kansas City Royals lose two players to chickenpox

Two Kansas City Royals — All-Star reliever Kelvin Herrera and right fielder Alex Rios — have been diagnosed with chickenpox and will be away for at least two weeks to make sure no one else on the team comes down with it.

The Royals, who are leading the AL Central and seem to be a lock for a playoff berth, now have concerns that chickenpox could spread through their team during the heat of the pennant chase.

“Think there is always a concern because these guys were in for three or four days before they showed signs of it,” Manager Ned Yost told the Associated Press on Tuesday. “Since that point, [trainer] Nick Kenney has done a real good job of monitoring.”

The Royals are asking players whether they already have had chickenpox or have been vaccinated for it, but the team’s concern lies mainly with its players from Latin America, where vaccinations aren’t as widespread.

“We haven’t had anybody else with it,” Yost said, “so that’s good news.”