Alex Rodriguez won’t call Mets’ Sunday Night Baseball game this season

Alex Rodriguez will return to the broadcast booth for the 2020 MLB season for ESPN’s Sunday Night Baseball. However, don’t expect him to be calling any New York Mets games any time soon.

ESPN will not use Alex Rodriguez for Mets’ Sunday Night Baseball game

ESPN has received plenty of criticism over the past year, including from MLB commissioner Rob Manfred, for allowing Jessica Mendoza to cover Mets’ games on the network while also working for the team.

With Rodriguez and Jennifer Lopez among those bidding to become the club’s newest owners, ESPN is making sure he won’t be in the broadcast booth for the Mets’ SNB game this season.

ESPN's Dan Gross says in response to @richarddeitsch that the network will shy away from having Alex Rodriguez call any Mets games this season given his involvement with one of the prospective ownership groups. There's only one Mets game at the moment on the SNB schedule.

— Alex M. Silverman🏒⚽️ (@AlexMSilverman) July 16, 2020

Fortunately for ESPN, the decision will only leave them without their top MLB analyst for one game this year. In his place, Chipper Jones will step into the booth on July 26, when the Mets face the Atlanta Braves.

Mark Gross, ESPN VP of production and remote events, says Chipper Jones will call the Mets-Braves Sunday Night Baseball game on July 26 (the Mets’ only SNB appearance so far this year). A-Rod, who is among the bidders for the Mets, and Matt Vasgersian will be on Dodgers-Giants.

— Nick Klopsis (@NickKlopsis) July 16, 2020

Of course, Jones has his own connections to the Braves. He spent his entire Hall of Fame career in Atlanta from 1993-2012, earning eight All-Star selections and winning the NL MVP in 1995.

While Rodriguez won’t get to call the Mets-Braves game, he won’t be getting the night off. Of course, he’ll be hoping it’s his last season in the booth and he can become a co-owner in the team he grew up rooting for.