Mets on virus handling: ‘Bigger than baseball’

PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. — While the Mets get used to this new reality — the absence of professional baseball for the foreseeable future — some are still deciding what their next steps should be.

Mets GM Brodie Van Wagenen said players that are still on site have participated in baseball activities, worked out in the weight room and received normal treatment from the team's training staff. The Mets have not conducted extended simulation games or live batting practice sessions where pitchers are throwing to hitters.

Once the team has a complete list of players remaining at camp, Van Wagenen said he will prepare a schedule for his players and personnel. In the meantime, the GM is directing his focus on the health and safety of his team.

“We're operating right now that this is bigger than baseball,” Van Wagenen said in a conference call with reporters on Saturday. “This is not about preparing for competition today, as much as it is making sure that players are considering their own circumstances … We're encouraging players to be thoughtful and to be measured in considering their personal and family situations.”

Major League Baseball officially suspended spring training operations on Friday due to the coronavirus outbreak. Players were then given three options by the league on how to proceed: return home, remain in their spring training cities or return to their club's home city.

The Mets played their last Grapefruit League game on Wednesday. Clover Park, the Mets spring training facility, has been closed to fans, media and nonessential staff since Friday.

Van Wagenen was not specific when discussing which players opted to remain at the Mets facility or travel home, but he said “a number of our players are going through their own thought processes to determine what their immediate plans will be.” If those plans include traveling from South Florida to their respective homes, the Mets will guide the players through their options.

The Mets are in the process of working through schedules to ensure the players have the resources required to remain in Port St. Lucie, or in New York if they decide to travel.