Chili keeps distance as Mets report

One individual on the Mets coaching staff is keeping his distance as baseball operations begin ramping up this weekend.

Mets’ hitting coach Chili Davis will be working remotely from his home Arizona to start summer training. The Mets begin practices with their first full-squad workout on Friday at Citi Field. It is unclear whether Davis will join the team for Opening Day, which has not yet been released by Major League Baseball but is expected to take place on July 24.

Assistant hitting coach Tom Slater will handle in-person coaching duties.

“Chili will be working remotely with us,” Mets manager Luis Rojas said on Thursday. “He’ll be helping out the players, helping out the coaching staff. He won’t be at the start of camp. The timing for him to join us is uncertain yet, but he will be working remotely.”

Davis, 60, is about five years removed from being considered “high-risk” to contract the coronavirus. Older adults, ages 65 and up, and people of any age who have serious underlying medical conditions like heart or lung disease or diabetes seem to be at higher risk for developing more serious complications, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Rojas said he talks to Davis every day and will remain in communication with the rest of the coaching staff, through video calls, throughout training camp.

“We’re going to get the best of Chili, whether he’s with us at the start of camp or whether he’s working remotely,” Rojas said. “We’re in constant communication.”

Ryan Ellis, the Mets’ hitting performance coordinator, will assist Slater in coaching players at Citi Field.

Unlike Davis, who is being cautious as COVID-19 cases continue to rise in Arizona, Rojas said he has no reservations about managing during the pandemic this year. He recently traveled to Citi Field from where he was quarantined in Port St. Lucie.

“I’m really excited right now. I’m excited to get into this,” Rojas said. “Just the excitement of preparing camp, meeting with the staff, talking and communicating with the players how things are going to be, what the expectations of camp are going to be so they know the proper behavior and distancing — all the protocols that we need to follow — I’m excited to go ahead and communicate that to them so we can get in and start our baseball activities.”