NEW YORK (WCBS 880) – After three and a half months without baseball, Mets fans have a reason to rejoice: the team resumed training Friday inside an empty Citi Field.
Manager Luis Rojas called the first workout positive and productive.
“Jake deGrom threw,” Rojas said. “It was great to see Jake mixing his repertoire. I mean he looked like almost in mid-season form there.”
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Players used every inch of field, using multiple pitching mounds and a makeshift outdoor weight room. Social distancing and masks were a part of the new normal.
“The number one thing is the health of everyone here and that we’re fulfilling the protocols so the guys are able to go out on the field and we can focus on our baseball,” Rojas said.
Catcher Wilson Ramos was one of the first players to take batting practice.
“As soon as I get into the field, I feel like baseball is back and we are back,” Ramos said.
Workouts will be staggered each day initially, with more than 50 players on the roster. Temperature and symptom checks will be done twice a day, COVID-19 testing every other day.
Players who don’t make the big-league roster will eventually move to the Brooklyn Cyclones park.
Hitting coach Chili Davis will continue to work remotely over concerns that the 60-year-old is in a higher coronavirus risk category.
The Yankees resume their training Saturday without fans in the Bronx.