According to Chelsea Janes, the Washington Nationals opening series against the New York Mets has been postponed. This is off the heels of Mike Rizzo’s announcement of two additional positive tests within the Nationals clubhouse plus one “likely” positive test. Just a day before opening day, the Washington Nationals announced that a player had tested positive for Covid-19. MLB has yet to announce a plan regarding make-up games or the status of the Nationals series against the Braves.
MLB says it is postponing the Nationals-Mets series to allow for follow-up testing and further contact tracing.
— Chelsea Janes (@chelsea_janes) April 2, 2021
Washington Nationals-New York Mets Series Postponed after Positive Tests
After the Nationals received notice of their first positive case, four players and one staff member were unavailable due to contact tracing protocols. This led to a scramble for Washington as they re-called four players from their alternate site. Then, yesterday, MLB announced that the opening day game in the Nation’s capital would be postponed following the initial positive test for contact-tracing purposes. While both teams shared an off-day on Friday, the league said that the game would not be played on Friday in an “abundance of caution.” The most likely outcome would’ve been a doubleheader on Saturday or when the Mets return to D.C. on June 18th.
Despite the isolation, more positive tests surfaced, leading to the series’ postponement. After the catastrophe with the St. Louis Cardinals last season, the league hoped that multiple games wouldn’t be postponed. The 162-game season could make it even more difficult to make up the lost games. The last two times the Mets visit Washington will be on June 18th-20th and September 3rd-5th. Both teams do not have common off days immediately before or after these series.
Given Covid-19’s incubation period, more positive cases could even put the Nationals next series at risk. Even if the Nationals return to action on Monday, their season is not off to the best start.
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