Mets-Nationals Opener Postponed Due to COVID-19

Thursday's Opening Day matchup between the Mets and Nationals at Nationals Park is being postponed due to COVID-19 issues.

Ben Pickman | Apr 1, 2021

Thursday's Opening Day matchup between the Mets and Nationals at Nationals Park is being postponed due to COVID-19 issues, the teams announced on Thursday.

It is unclear when the game will be rescheduled.

Friday's game is also being postponed and the earlier the teams would potentially play is Saturday.

The news comes after Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo announced on Wednesday that one player within the organization tested positive for COVID-19. It is unclear which player tested positive for COVID-19.

Rizzo said Wednesday that the team would have been down at least five players and a staff member had Thursday's game been played.

ESPN's Jeff Passan reported on Thursday morning that there are concerns of at least one additional positive COVID-19 test within the team.

By Thursday afternoon, The Athletic's Britt Ghiroli reported that two additional players tested positive, bringing the total to three. There's potentially one more player who could be a confirmed positive case.

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The test that returned positive on Wednesday was conducted Monday while the Nationals were still in Florida for spring training.

Per MLB's health and safety protocols for 2021, the player who tested positive will be required to isolate for a minimum of 10 days, among other factors, before returning to the team.

The Nationals previously did not have a single player test positive during their six weeks of spring training camp in Florida.

Last season, there were 45 regular-season games postponed for coronavirus-related reasons, with just two games that were not made up.

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Published Apr 1, 2021

BEN PICKMAN