New York Mets have 2 positive COVID-19 tests, Thursday’s game canceled (Report)

The New York Mets have been struck by COVID-19. Two members of the organization have tested positive, canceling Thursday’s game.

According to Tim Healey of Newsday, the New York Mets have been struck by two cases of COVID-19. One player and one staffer have tested positive.

Breaking: Mets-Marlins tonight is postponed, source says.

The Mets have two positive coronavirus tests, one player and one staff member.

— Tim Healey (@timbhealey) August 20, 2020

It’s currently unknown who the specific individuals are. MLB’s rules say the team is not able to reveal the status of a member of the organization without the consent of that person.

The positive tests come as the Mets visit the Miami Marlins. Miami is one of the biggest COVID-19 hotspots in the country, and this was the Marlins’ first home series of 2020.

Thursday’s game against the Marlins and Friday’s game against the New York Yankees have both been postponed. It’s possible the Mets will be able to play this weekend if the cases are limited to the two known positives, though that’s unlikely. More positive tests could follow, as the Marlins and Cardinals showed they can pile up the cases.

It’s entirely possible the Mets could be out of action for up to two weeks. The best-case scenario is one similar to the Reds’, who only missed four days due to one case.

That would indicate the Mets’ best possible outlook is a return to the field on Monday, Aug. 24. That’s currently scheduled to be an off day, but the Mets are playing the Marlins from Aug. 25-27. It’s possible they could use that day to make up the last game of this series before playing the Yankees from Aug. 28-30. That would likely become a six-game series, with doubleheaders every day.

That’s the best-case scenario though. If this turns into an outbreak, there’s no telling how much damage this will do to the Mets’ season. They aren’t scheduled to play the Marlins or Yankees after the 30th, so if they miss a week or two, it’s unlikely they could reach 60 games.