New York Post

Mr. Met will have no baseball to watch at Citi Field Friday night after the Subway Series opener was called off.

- By MIKE PUMA mpuma@nypost.com

The Mets received an unexpected momentum breaker Thursday in the form of multiple COVID-19 positives that have put their season on hold.

According to a statement released by the team, two members of the organizati­on tested positive. An industry source told The Post the positive cases consisted of a position player and coach.

Players and staff were informed around 4:45 p.m., according to another source, that their series finale in Miami had been postponed. In addition, Friday’s Subway Series opener between the Mets and Yankees at Citi Field was postponed. The Mets had last been tested for the coronaviru­s on Wednesday as part of their normal every-other-day routine.

The Marlins, Cardinals and Reds are among the teams that have dealt with positive tests in recent weeks. At this point, the Mets’ situation might be most comparable to the Reds, who recently had three games postponed over four days after a player tested positive. On the extreme end was a Cardinals outbreak that delayed their season for two weeks, forcing the team to play catch up with at least 11 doublehead­ers scheduled.

The Mets released a statement saying the team planned to fly back to New York on Thursday night with recommende­d safety precaution­s in place and conduct testing with the entire traveling party.

Before planning to depart, the team was conducting contact tracing. The two members who tested positive, along with those traced to be within close contact, were to remain in Miami.

A club source indicated there wasn’t an initial belief that any protocols had been broken.

That the positive tests occurred in Miami, which has been a coronaviru­s epicenter, wasn’t lost on members of the organizati­on. In opting out on the season last week, citing COVID-19 concerns, Marcus Stroman mentioned the Mets’ trip to Miami as a source of concern.

There are various possibilit­ies to make up the postponed games, contingent upon the scope of the outbreak. With the Marlins scheduled to play a three-game series at Citi Field beginning Tuesday, a doublehead­er date could easily be added, with Miami as the “home” team for one game.

The Yankees and Mets are scheduled to play three games in The Bronx next weekend, and doublehead­ers could be added as needed. The teams also have a mutual day off on Monday that possibly could be considered.

The positive tests came as the Mets were riding a three-game winning streak that ranked as their longest of the season.

“It would be terrible to have too many games postponed,” one Mets player said in a text message to The Post. “Especially with the way we have been hitting the ball.”

But the break could be coming at the right time for a banged-up Mets pitching staff that was scheduled to start Rick Porcello, Robert Gsellman and Corey Oswaltagai­nst the Yankees in succession. The postponeme­nts could allow Michael Wacha and David Peterson, both of whom are sidelined with shoulder swelling, to move closer to health or at the very least align their rotation so that Jacob deGrom could perhaps face the Yankees, depending on rescheduli­ng.

The postponeme­nts mean Seth Lugo’s move to the rotation will have to wait. The right-hander was set to face the Marlins on Thursday in his first start since 2018. Manager Luis Rojas indicated the Mets are stretching out Lugo, the team’s most dependable reliever, with the idea of keeping him in the starting rotation. Steven Matz, who has struggled, will work from the bullpen indefinite­ly.

 ??  ??
 ??  ??
 ??  ??

Newspapers in English

Newspapers from United States