Mets having Donovan Mitchell Sr. tested for coronavirus
Patrick Abate, catcher and captain of the Amityville varsity baseball team, left, high-fives Donovan Mitchell, Mets Director of Player Relations and Community Outreach, during a visit to Citi Field by Abate and his teammates on June 23, 2018. Credit: James Escher
PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. — The Mets are having a club employee tested for coronavirus after his son tested positive for the disease, the team announced Thursday.
They said they told Donovan Mitchell Sr., the Mets’ director of player relations and community engagement, on Wednesday night not to report to the team’s Clover Park facility Thursday because of the news that the COVID-19 virus had reached the Utah Jazz. Mitchell’s son, Donovan Mitchell Jr., plays for the Jazz and tested positive for the virus Thursday.
“Upon learning today that his son, Donovan Mitchell Jr., tested positive for the coronavirus, we brought that fact to the attention of our medical team, who recommended, as a precautionary measure, that Donovan Sr. be tested, and we are making those arrangements,” the Mets said in a statement. “We will continue to closely monitor the situation and the medical staff will advise us if any additional testing becomes advisable.”
Mitchell Sr. most recently saw his son on March 4, when the Jazz played the Knicks in New York. He then returned to Mets camp and had been at work as usual, regularly interacting with Mets players and other team employees.
It’s not clear when the younger Mitchell contracted the disease. The Jazz-Thunder game was postponed shortly before tipoff Wednesday when another player, Rudy Gobert, tested positive for COVID-19. The NBA responded by immediately suspending its season, a move followed Thursday by MLB, MLS, the NHL and the NCAA doing the same.
The Mets plan to remain in Port St. Lucie indefinitely — as opposed to going to New York or their respective homes — and continue working out, albeit without exhibition games to play.
