Four Players Opt Out Of Major League Season
As Major League Baseball and the Players Association engaged in tense negotiations to resume play after the season was initially suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic, much of the focus was understandably spent on the money players would be paid for competing in games during the crisis. But in addition to the compensation for players on the field, a number of other issues needed to be sorted out, including protections for players who did not wish to play this season out of concern for their own health and safety, or for that of someone close to them. Both sides knew that regardless of the salary agreement and health guidelines passed, there would be players with pre-existing health conditions, ones who live with or care for high-risk individuals, and ones in otherwise uncertain situations who would prefer to sit the 2020 season out and wait for next year.
On Monday, the first wave of such decisions arrived, with four veteran players announcing they wouldn’t play the 2020 season. First was Arizona Diamondbacks right-hander Mike Leake, whose agent released the following statement:
Mike Leake is set to be a free agent after the 2020 season. Here is an explanation of his opting out from his agent, Danny Horwits. pic.twitter.com/dtlZm4OC5E
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) June 29, 2020
A little while later, The Athletic’s Britt Ghiroli reported that two members of the defending champion Washington Nationals, Ryan Zimmerman and Joe Ross, had also opted out of the season. Zimmerman released a statement, as did Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo.
— CAA Baseball (@CAA_Baseball) June 29, 2020
— Washington Nationals (@Nationals) June 29, 2020
Finally, later Monday evening, Colorado Rockies outfielder Ian Desmond announced his own decision to opt out in a long, stirring statement on Instagram.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CCCp7aSptTr/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
Under the current agreement, a high-risk player who decides to sit the season out is eligible to receive his full prorated salary and service time for 2020, while those not considered high-risk will not be paid and forfeit that service time. Players who aren’t high-risk and opt out are also not permitted to change their minds and come back later in the season, whereas high-risk players can, though per Jayson Stark, MLB and the MLBPA are negotiating a possible change to that rule that could allow non-high-risk players to return. Neither Zimmerman nor Ross is reportedly considered high-risk; it’s not known whether Leake and Desmond are.
The circumstances surrounding each player’s decision are different. Leake was looking at a full-season salary of $16 million in the final year of a contract he signed with the St. Louis Cardinals ahead of the 2016 season. He’ll turn 33 in November as he enters free agency for a second time (he and the Diamondbacks have a mutual option for the 2021 season), coming off a 2019 season in which he held a 4.29 ERA and 5.19 FIP in 197 innings.
The Diamondbacks, who traded for Leake last July on the same day they shipped Zack Greinke to Houston, shouldn’t see a huge change in their rotation outlook after the Leake news. The right-hander was competing with Merrill Kelly for the fifth spot in the rotation, and considering the salary he was owed, would have had a good chance to secure that spot. The D-backs will still go with free agent prize Madison Bumgarner, as well as Robbie Ray, Luke Weaver and Zac Gallen in front of Kelly, with young right-hander Jon Duplantier and lefty Alex Young in line for a few chances as well.
Ross’ situation with his team is similar. With Max Scherzer, Stephen Strasburg, Patrick Corbin, and Aníbal Sánchez entrenched in the first four rotation spots in Washington, Ross was likely to slot in as the fifth starter. He split time between the rotation and the bullpen last season and owned a 5.48 ERA and 4.59 FIP in 64 innings, marking his third straight season throwing fewer than 100 frames. Austin Voth and Erick Fedde should each get opportunities to fill in his spot.
Where Ross and Leake differ is in how this decision will affect them in the near-future. Leake’s track record as a dependably average starter wasn’t likely to be changed that much by the 10-12 starts he might have made in a healthy shortened season this year, and the contract he signs this winter will depend much more on what the state of free agency is overall than it does with what teams saw from him in 2020. In Ross’ case, however, he’s likely postponed his free agency by a year, if he is indeed not viewed as high-risk and is forced to surrender a year of service time. He had a $1.5 million arbitration salary this year and would have qualified for arbitration again next season before hitting free agency ahead of 2022 — now, he’ll likely test the market for the first time at 29 years old instead of 28.
Zimmerman could lose even more because of his decision. A 35-year-old first baseman coming off a disappointing year of part-time play in 2019, the franchise icon landed a one-year, $2 million deal from Washington this winter after the team declined his $16-million option. Now he’ll hit the market again in what’s sure to be a difficult offseason for free agents who don’t fit into the top couple tiers of the class. The Nationals could decide to offer him a similarly cheap deal to return in 2021, but if they move on, there’s no guarantee Zimmerman would get much of a look from other teams. The language of his statement was definitive in saying he wasn’t retiring at this moment, but also didn’t offer a commitment to playing beyond 2020. Considering he’s previously said he’d retire if the Nationals didn’t offer him a spot, it’s possible he’ll place his baseball future in Washington’s hands again this winter.
Desmond, if not considered a high-risk individual, will forfeit the the fourth year of a five year, $70 million contract he signed with Colorado before the 2017 season. The 34-year-old veteran stood to make a full season salary of $14 million. His contract with the Rockies hasn’t worked out the way either side would have liked, with Desmond coming in below replacement level in each of the last three seasons, thanks in part to poor defensive numbers following a move to the outfield. He’d shown progress last season, however, and would have been a good DH candidate in Colorado this year coming off his best offensive performance since 2016.
These almost certainly won’t be the only players to make this decision in the weeks leading up to the start of the regular season. While we ought not to speculate on the reasoning behind any given player’s decision not to play, Zimmerman and Desmond both specifically mentioned their young children, and their either pregnant or otherwise high-risk wives in their statements. There are many others around the game who are expectant fathers, have young children or simply live with a high-risk partner who are likely still engaged in difficult conversations, not to mention those previously reported to be high-risk themselves.
Desmond’s thoughtful explanation of his decision is particularly illuminating, as it shows just how many factors athletes are weighing when considering playing this season. The ramifications of frequent travel and interaction with people outside of one’s own household during a pandemic that has killed 126,000 people in the United States alone are daunting enough to make any reasonable person question whether it’s worth it to participate in the season. More directly, Desmond’s post forces us to question whether Major League Baseball has earned that kind sacrifice from its players. As Desmond points out, he’s a Black player in a game that is severely lacking in Black senior leadership and is completely devoid of Black people among the ranks of its principal owners, a game that stifles the expression of Black players, and a game that still fails to reach Black children, particularly poor Black children. Desmond had the choice between potentially putting himself in harm’s way for that game, or staying home to help his wife and children through a time when the coronavirus and police brutality — two public health crises that disproportionately affect Black people — are at the forefront of much of the public’s minds. It isn’t difficult to see why he made the decision he did.
It isn’t just players who must make difficult calculations when it comes to this season. It was also reported Monday that the Minnesota Twins had decided to not allow two of its coaches — Bob McClure, 68, and Bill Evers, 66 — to work games in person this year, out of concern for the safety of their two oldest coaches. Both will still be paid their expected salaries for the season, and could serve in an advisory capacity to the team. The Twins will also not have their radio team of Cory Provus and Don Gladden travel to road games in an effort to keep the size of traveling parties to a minimum. Provus and Gladden will still conduct road broadcasts remotely.
Like those of the players, decisions such as these by the Twins could set a precedent for how other teams behave in the coming weeks. Neither McClure nor Evers are believed to be at anything short of full health — though Evers did undergo surgery for colon cancer 14 years ago — but the team believed their age put them at an elevated risk. Those two are hardly the only coaches their age who were expected to fill some kind of in-person coaching role in 2020, and considering how much of the MLB’s current health protocols rely on athletes and other members of the organization policing themselves responsibly, their presence in the dugout deserves a hard look.
As for the players themselves, negotiations are still ongoing between the union and MLB to award them the appropriate protections heading into this season. Those talks aren’t preventing teams’ training camps from proceeding, but they do cover some important subjects, including the rights of and rules regarding players who opt out of this season. The number of players those negotiations will affect is likely greater than you think, but it also isn’t the most important thing here, nor is it the specific reasons for which they choose to sit. The most important thing to keep in mind over the next few weeks is that we aren’t owed an explanation from players like Mike Leake who may choose to keep to themselves, and we ought to listen and reflect when someone like Ian Desmond chooses to speak out.
Tony is a contributor for FanGraphs. He began writing for Red Reporter in 2016, and has also covered prep sports for the Times West Virginian and college sports for Ohio University's The Post. He can be found on Twitter at @_TonyWolfe_.
The Mariners have shelved three of their coaches as well — Perry Hill (age), Tim Laker (chronic health condition), and Brian DeLunas (health condition).
Honestly I’d be surprised to see coaches over 60. Just take one second and imagine the scenario where an older or otherwise high-risk employee in baseball (a game played for entertainment) were to get sick and die. It’s completely foreseeable and the public would view it that way. “Blood on MLB’s Hands” would be the headline. It would be a PR disaster in addition to of course the sadness of anyone dying from this awful disease.
Hill wasn’t a surprise given his age, but Laker and DeLunas were. I wonder if they would be comfortable staying in Tacoma and working with the Taxi Squad? And I wonder if that was the plan all along.
I think Zimmerman is safe. Barring something unforeseen, he’s going to get rolling 1-year “whatever’s left under the tax limit” contracts with WAS so long as he’s minimally productive.
To be clear, players that are not high-risk but that have a high-risk family member are not GUARANTEED pay/service time, but their clubs can still opt to pay them (and offer service time?), right?
Yes. Teams can also opt to pay me millions of dollars to not play for them. Another option teams have is to throw millions of $ in a pit and set it ablaze.
“Another option teams have is to throw millions of $ in a pit and set it ablaze.”
Ah yes, the Yasmany Tomas option.
Chris Davis objects to the name of this option.
The pit out back on fire at least isn’t hurting anything around it. The Chris Davis option would be more like putting a larger pile of money in your living room and lighting it up then getting really confused when your house catches on fire.
You misspelled “Albert Pujols.”
The rockies now FORMALLY paying Desmond not to play baseball.
If he’s not high risk then he’s not getting paid this season.
Management approves of his decision.
Gee, I wonder why…
Agency is important here. If a player feels he cannot play, he shouldn’t be pressured to do so. If he’s high risk, you’d rather he not anyway. If he’s not and is willing to accept loss of pay and service time, he’s putting his money where his mouth is. MLB is already getting a lot of attention for how it handled negotiations to restart. It doesn’t need a few high-profile illnesses, even if they don’t escalate to serious.
With the virus newly ascendant, I kind of hope everyone opts out en masse. It was a good try. Sigh.
Everything else aside, what an amazing reflection and piece from Ian Desmond; it’s been awhile since an MLB’er spoke out about anything, and his personal and professional experience really drives it home
indeed. He did an excellent job of elucidating the societal and health factors that played a role in his decision. Good on him for making that decision as well as sharing it with the world in manner that drives home his position.
I got to have a *very* brief interaction with Ian Desmond at spring training this year, and he came across as kind, thoughtful, and interested in genuinely connecting with fans. I support his decision.
He’s really a great guy and it sucks that he is bad at baseball at this point in his career. It isn’t his fault that the Rockies gave him that contract.
Pujols is probably considered high risk (age) too, right?
He’s 40 years old. He may very well be high-risk, but it’s not because of that.
Pujols is probably 42 or 43 years old. He claims to be 40. But sadtrombone might be the only remaining person who believes Pujols about his age.
okay, but he’s still not “high risk”
There’s danger in letting him play but the danger is to the team offense.
I don’t know. I mean, he survived the Spanish Flu, I think he can beat COVID.
There are actually people who have survived both.
It’s too bad Bartolo Colón seems to have retired. People forget his first year in organized baseball was pitching for the Constantinople Theodoras during the Plague of Justinian (see picture), so he has some experience in these matters.
On a per year basis, he really hasn’t gained that much weight since then.
Wait, if they opt-out of the year, do they become free agents as scheduled? Or is it just delayed by a year? I’m confused now.
Desmond outlined his reasoning pretty well, and I think Leake probably made the decision because his father is paralyzed (the reason he has wanted to be in Arizona for a while now). I don’t know whether his father is high risk but he probably wants to continue seeing him and care for him since he worked hard to get back to Arizona.
Actually, Zimmerman is exactly the type of player I would expect to opt out.
A veteran role player with plenty of money in the bank (career earning $137M) with a relatively low salary ($0.74M prorated).
The benefit/risk doesn’t get much lower than that.
It is Joe Ross that I find to be the most surprising of them all since his decision cost him several millions, possibly more money than his career earnings so far.
Sorry about re-writing my comment so that yours makes no sense. I really now have no idea what opting out does or doesn’t do, so my surprise was replaced by confusion.
I wouldn’t doubt anyone’s personal reasons but strictly from a market standpoint I think the article covers Leake pretty well. He doesn’t really have much to gain from going out and making 10-12 starts. His track record is so established that he isn’t going to increase his value if he pitches well and can really only hurt his value if he pitches poorly.
The Rockies will still find a way to get Desmond into the lineup every day
The walking remains of Matt Kemp is actually a pretty appropriate replacement.
This means is in five years people will say “I totally forgot Matt Kemp finished with the Rockies that one year” instead “I totally forgot Matt Kemp finished with the Reds that one year.”
But who are we kidding; the Marlins will sign him in 2021.
He was horrendous last year, but it was only ~60 PA. BB% was miniscule, but BABIP was way down despite a good hard hit pct (above career) and LD/FB numbers in line with career (the former a bit below, the latter a bit above).
Maybe he can find some Coors magic
“Zimmerman and Desmond both specifically mentioned their young children, and their either pregnant or otherwise high-risk wives in their statements.”
Trout’s wife is pregnant. Are we going to hear from him next?
Most of the data I’ve seen to this point suggests that pregnant women and infants are at no more risk than anyone in their age cohort, absent other health issues. There’s still a lot of unknowns about COVID, but I wouldn’t assume pregnant wife necessarily equals guy sitting out.
Pregnant women and their families being famous for their tolerance for increased risk in the face of uncertainty…
Last week, CDC reclassified pregnant women as high risk.
Dated June 25th: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/need-extra-precautions/pregnancy-breastfeeding.html