Chris Bassitt regrets telling Mets he tested positive for COVID-19
Mets starting pitcher Chris Bassitt looks out from the dugout after pitching in the fourth inning of a game against the Marlins on June 25 in Miami. Credit: AP/Lynne Sladky
Chris Bassitt, whom the Mets placed on the COVID-19 list on July 1, said on Thursday that he regrets telling the team he had tested positive because he never had any symptoms.
The righthander, who hasn’t pitched since June 25 and is slated to return to face the Marlins on Friday night, said “it’s ridiculous we’re still doing it” — meaning MLB’s COVID rules that make players who test positive but have no symptoms sit out until they test negative over a period of time.
“I guess the answer is I should never have said anything,” Bassitt said. “Should never have said I tested positive. I probably won’t the rest of my career. There’s no way. There’s no reason.”
Asked if he has a solution, Bassitt said: “Stop testing. Stop acting like COVID is far worse than a lot of other things. Not trying to get too much into it, but I was never sick. Never had a symptom. So sitting out . . . a week for zero symptoms, I don’t know.”
Bassitt said he tested positive on a self-administered test on June 29.
“The only symptom — so-called — that I had was . . . I was just way more sluggish, tired than I usually [am], and having a little girl at home and stuff like that, if I can somewhat be safe, I will,” he said.
“Tested myself. It was positive. So I basically had the choice to tell [the Mets] so I could kind of protect my teammates or not say anything and put my teammates at risk a little bit.
“I never had a symptom. Woke up perfectly fine. Next day fine. Have not had a symptom since. I don’t know if I made the right decision of saying something or not. I don’t know.”
Bassitt said he was able to throw in safe areas, including a Manhattan park. His catcher?
“Fence. Squirrel,” he said, and he didn’t mean Jeff McNeil. And he wasn’t laughing at his own joke.
Anthony Rieber covers baseball, as well as the NFL, NBA and NHL. He has worked at Newsday since Aug. 31, 1998, and has been in his current position since July 5, 2004.
