A-Rod, J-Lo among bidders to purchase New York Mets

Alex Rodriguez and Jennifer Lopez made a $1.7 billion bid to buy the New York Mets, likely good enough to make the cut into the second round of the auction, the New York Post reported late Thursday night.

The Mets set a deadline of Thursday for suitors to submit a bid.

The A-Rod-J-Lo stable of investors — including Florida Panthers owner Vinny Viola — made a bid that was comparable to one made by Josh Harris and David Blitzer, owners of the Philadelphia 76ers and New Jersey Devils. Viola reportedly contributed $200 million to the Rodriguez-Lopez led group.

Billionaire Steve Cohen also reportedly submitted another bid after walking away from his $2.6 billion bid earlier this year. But the Post reports Cohen would have to outbid his nearest competitor by more than $250 million over his tactics in February. Further, Cohen could face a difficult challenge being approved by three-quarters of baseball owners, according to the report.

Rodriguez was a threetime MVP and 14-time All-Star in a 22-year major league career that included stints with the Mariners, Rangers and Yankees.

Lopez has enjoyed success as both a movie star and a singer. Fox Business reported in February that her net worth is between $225 million and $400 million, with Rodriguez’s net worth estimated at $300 million to $350 million.

The Wilpon family, owners of the Mets, will now review the bids and decide how many suitors to invite to a second round, the Post reported. MLB CONFIRMS 66 POSITIVE TESTS DURING IN

TAKE SCREENING >> Intake screening for COVID-19 ahead of the start of Major League Baseball training camps produced 66 positives from 3,748 tests, the league and players association said in a joint statement.

With all 30 clubs in training camps preparing for a shortened 60-game season, MLB said it had moved into the monitoring phase of testing, which had produced 17 more positives from 7,401 samples.

All testing through Thursday has therefore produced a combined 83 positives from 11,149 samples, or 0.7%.

The 83 positives included 71 players and 12 staff members from 28 different clubs, they said.

The season, which will be played without spectators, is scheduled to open on July 23 with the World Series champion Nationals hosting the Yankees and the Dodgers hosting the Giants. GALLO JOINS RANGERS AFTER MISSED WEEK >> AllStar slugger Joey Gallo joined the Texas Rangers for the first time at summer camp after missing the first week of workouts because he had tested positive for coronavirus.

Gallo never felt any symptoms, but had two positive tests that sandwiched a negative result during intake testing. He was cleared to return after multiple negative tests this week. BLUE JAYS SHIFT GUERRERO JR. TO FIRST BASE >> The Toronto Blue Jays are shifting Vladimir Guerrero Jr. across the diamond, moving the slugger to first base from third.

Blue Jays manager Charlie Montoyo said Guerrero feels comfortable at first and the team has Travis Shaw ready to play third. Montoyo also said Guerrero will see time as a designated hitter. He didn’t rule out that he will play some third in the future.

Guerrero hit .272 with 15 home runs and 69 RBIs in 123 games as a rookie, delivering a series of big

swings en route to the finals of the All-Star Home Run Derby. SHAW EXPRESSES CONCERN ABOUT ISOLATION >>

Blue Jays infielder Travis Shaw says he’s not interested in confining himself to the hotel attached to the Rogers Centre for the summer if MLB is granted an exemption from the Canadian government to play baseball in Toronto amid the pandemic.

The Blue Jays have created a quarantine environment at Rogers Centre and the adjoining Toronto Marriott City Centre Hotel during training camp. The current exemption does not cover the regular season and player travel between the U.S. and Canada.

MLB requires an exemption as anyone entering Canada for nonessential reasons must self-isolate for 14 days. The U.S.-Canada border remains closed to nonessential travel until at least July 21 and that is expected to be extended.

Any exemption likely means the Blue Jays would not be allowed to leave the hotel attached to the Rogers Center when they play home games in the city.

“All summer isn’t gonna happen. Not an option,” Shaw tweeted Friday. ORIOLES’ COBB WILL PLAY >>

While some have opted out of the season, others have carefully weighed the risks and decided to play. Baltimore pitcher Alex Cobb has a young family to care for, including a newborn, so he wasn’t so sure about participating in the delayed season.

But after consulting with his wife, pediatricians and doctors, Cobb joined the rebuilding Orioles.

“There’s just no guarantee that if I opted out and stayed home that we wouldn’t get it,” he said. “This is a great opportunity for me personally — especially since I missed all last year — to go out and get a season in.”