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Mets' next two games postponed after two team members test positive for COVID-19

jack baer
Staff writer
·2 min read
A general view of the New York Mets taking batting practice during a baseball workout at Citi Field in New York, Friday, July 3, 2020. (AP Photo/Adam Hunger)
MLB has another coronavirus case on its hands with the Mets. (AP Photo/Adam Hunger)

The New York Mets have had their next two games postponed after two members of the team tested positive for COVID-19, MLB announced on Thursday.

The Mets were initially scheduled to face the Miami Marlins on Thursday, then begin a series against the New York Yankees on Friday, but will now focus on additional coronavirus testing and contact tracing.

The two members of the team to test positive were a player and staff member, according to Newsday’s Tim Healey.

The Mets later released a statement saying the team plans to fly back to New York from Miami on Thursday night, but without the two members who tested positive and anyone who has been traced to be in close contact with them. The group exposed to the virus will remain in Miami.

MLB’s COVID-19 headache continues

The Mets are only the latest MLB team to have games postponed after seeing their organization breached by the virus.

Just last week, a player on the Cincinnati Reds tested positive for the virus. That alone led to three games scheduled over the next four days being postponed, so it seems quite possible that additional games in this weekend’s Mets-Yankees series will need to be postponed.

Of course, MLB’s real trouble with the coronavirus has been managing the schedules of the Marlins, St. Louis Cardinals and Philadelphia Phillies, who all had their seasons shut down earlier this season due to coronavirus outbreaks. The corresponding schedule changes have resulted in all three teams being on track to average more than one game per day for the rest of the season, via doubleheaders. The Marlins losing another game — and possibly more — to these latest COVID-19 cases won’t make things any better.

MLB is reportedly considering a postseason bubble format akin to the NHL or NBA that would theoretically reduce the risk of a coronavirus outbreak during the league’s most important games, but the plan for now appears to be simply hoping the players go above and beyond the safety protocols set by the league.

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