Cubs pitching coach after bout with coronavirus: 'I got crushed'

MLB training camps start to open on Wednesday, and players will be screened for the coronavirus as they arrive.

Chicago Cubs pitching coach Tommy Hottovy knows firsthand what the virus can do after contracting it, and he's not at an advanced age and wasn't considered to be high risk.

"It is important to understand that, guys, I'm 38 years old," Hottovy said on the "Mully & Haugh Show" on 670 The Score on Wednesday. "I've been poked, prodded, tested for the last 16 years in Major League Baseball. I've had no underlying issues, nothing that would red flag me as somebody that would get hit pretty hard with this virus. But I did.

"My journey through this virus was not like ones you hear of younger people who are asymptomatic or only have it for a few days. I got crushed. I did have to go the hospital for a little bit of time to get checked and do all the breathing treatments."

Hottovy added that the worst stretch was days eight through 14.

"It got into my lungs," he said. "I got the full what they call the COVID pneumonia, a viral pneumonia, shortness of breath, really trouble breathing, constant fevers."

The Cubs will start their on-field training at Wrigley Field on Friday following screening and health protocols.

For the shortened season, the league is implementing a COVID-19 injured list for players who test positive or have been exposed to the virus, and those who exhibit symptoms. However, teams will not be permitted to disclose which players have been placed on that list. Players can reveal their diagnoses if they choose.

Hottovy was hired as the Cubs' pitching coach in December 2018. Prior to that, he made 17 major-league appearances between 2011 and 2012 with the Boston Red Sox and Kansas City Royals, posting a 4.05 ERA in 13 1/3 innings as a reliever.