Per a tweet from David Lennon of Newsday Sports, Mets’ front-office employee Donovan Mitchell Sr. has tested negative for COVID-19. Mitchell’s son, Utah Jazz star, Donovan Mitchell Jr., was confirmed to have the coronavirus earlier this week.
Mitchell Sr. has worked for New York for the last couple of decades as the Mets’ director of player relations and community engagement. He was potentially exposed to the virus after attending his son’s contest against the Knicks at Madison Square Garden on March 4th.
The sports world has been sent upside-down in the last couple of days with the recent Coronavirus developments. The NBA and NHL have suspended their seasons while Major League Baseball has made the decision to postpone the start of its season and cancel Spring Training. Earlier today, MLB sent out a memo officially announcing these schedule changes.
Players have been encouraged to stay at the spring-training site, although some teams have let the members of their team rejoin their families. The Coronavirus has not penetrated MLB locker rooms the way it has NBA locker rooms, but it’s worth noting that a Diamondbacks minor-leaguer was tested earlier today out of “an abundance of caution”. The test results are still pending.
In addition, Sam Kennedy, the CEO of Red Sox, said that the baseball season could extend into December, should Major League Baseball choose to continue its 162 game slate.
Anthony DiComo of MLB.com adds that Brodie Van Wagenen will talk about this and the recent coronavirus events in a news conference tomorrow.
Hopefully, baseball will return soon, but at this point, there’s no knowing when soon will be.
