Subway Series Postponed This Weekend Due to Mets' COVID-19 Cases

NEW YORK — In response to two positive COVID-19 tests within the Mets' organization, Major League Baseball has postponed the entire three-game Subway Series this weekend.

Initially MLB had pushed back Friday night's contest between the Yankees and Mets at Citi Field. In an effort to allow for additional testing and contact tracing to be performed on the Mets, and out of an abundance of caution, Saturday and Sunday's games have been postponed as well.

As Yankees' manager Aaron Boone returned to the clubhouse after delivering his postgame presser on Thursday afternoon—moments after the Tampa Bay Rays completed a three-game sweep over his club at Yankee Stadium—he heard the news that the virus had popped up within the Mets' organization.

"One of the unfortunate things about this season that unfortunately these things are possible," Boone said. "Hopefully it's not something that spreads and becomes too serious."

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When Boone sat down on Zoom to address the media a second time, he was unsure how this news would impact the Yankees' schedule beyond this weekend. New York is scheduled to play the Mets at Yankee Stadium the following weekend.

Both clubs have Monday as a scheduled off day that could be utilized to make up games as well, although Major League Baseball has yet to announce a plan for when these three games will be played.

Boone revealed he would be comfortable playing against the Mets once this is all sorted out—even after the Mets' positive tests—because he trusts his own team's attention to detail with health and safety protocols.

"If it gets to the point where we're playing, I feel like the due diligence done and safety is the first priority so I would, yes," he said.

This isn't the first time this season the Yankees have been impacted by the novel coronavirus pandemic and certainly not the first time games have been postponed this summer across the league.

After the Marlins' initial coronavirus outbreak in late-July, New York was unable to play its series against the Phillies in Philadelphia. Not only did the Bombers make the quick adjustment to play the Orioles in Baltimore, but the Yankees' home opener was pushed back to the following week as well. The Yankees wound up playing a home game at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia due to fluctuations in the team's schedule.

New York also played a pair of seven-inning doubleheaders, creating a tough stretch of seven games in five days. With a shortened 60-game schedule, it's safe to expect more doubleheaders as a result of this weekend's postponements.

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Asked about the challenge the pandemic and its postponements bring, Boone said as difficult as 2020 has been for everyone around the game, this was what he and his players had knowingly signed up for. All members of the Yankees' organization knew there would be bumps in the road during this unprecedented campaign.

"We've already faced our own challenges just with a couple of cancelations and doubleheaders. Other teams have had it significantly worse with actual outbreaks and things. We'll just continue to do our best and do our part and be able to safely play games," he said.

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