Rodriguez diagnosed with heart condition after contracting COVID-19

Boston Red Sox left-hander Eduardo Rodriguez says he was diagnosed with a heart condition called myocarditis after contracting COVID-19, according to MassLive's Christopher Smith.

Red Sox manager Ron Roenicke announced Thursday that the 27-year-old Rodriguez was shut down from baseball activities because of minor complications related to his positive COVID-19 test. Rodriguez confirmed Sunday the heart condition was the complication.

"(The heart) is the most important part of your body," Rodriguez said. "So when you hear that - the first time that I hear it - I was like kind of scared. Now that I know what it is, it's still scary."

The pitcher added that he feels normal health-wise after developing myocarditis, a condition that inflames the heart muscle and can cause abnormal rhythms. Rodriguez said he was told that about 10-20% of people with COVID-19 develop the condition.

"They just told me to take a rest for a week and wait and then just wait to get the next tests and see what it is," Rodriguez explained. "Emotional-wise, it feels really hard because when I got here, I was supposed to start getting ready (to pitch)."

The Venezuelan was one of the top starters in the American League last season, winning 19 games and recording a 3.81 ERA over 203 1/3 innings.