Players opting out of 2020 season

[Redskins Rick]

6 hours ago, survivedc said:

Good for 82nd highest in the league. Big to you and me, not all that big to baseball.

Price also have a ton of wear on his arm, and resting for a year, could be beneficial to him.

[MurphDogg]

Any player with a family, especially if they have already made real money, has to be thinking about following suit. The upside is just so minimal.

[SteveA]

I updated the initial post in this thread with the complete list of guys taking the season off, and will try to keep it updated as more are added.

[BohKnowsBmore]

37 minutes ago, MurphDogg said:

Any player with a family, especially if they have already made real money, has to be thinking about following suit. The upside is just so minimal.

This kills just about any outside shot Nick may have had at getting anywhere close to 3,000 hits. Really losing 102 games was the more meaningful component of that.He has 2,355 hits right now. If the full season had been played, he would have been a pretty good bet to pass 2,500 by the end of the season.

[TommyPickles]

I was sad to hear about Markakis, though I totally understand the decision.

He and Adam Jones are my all time favorite Orioles.

[TommyPickles]

Also, its odd that all nine players that have opted out have been from NL teams.

[spiritof66]

1 hour ago, MurphDogg said:

Any player with a family, especially if they have already made real money, has to be thinking about following suit. The upside is just so minimal.

It seems to me that these are among the incentives to play, other than the pro-rated salary:  the extra income from making the playoffs, having a shot at a pennant or WS title, the chance for borderline/aging players to show they belong in the majors in 2021, the possibility that in the future some owners or GMs will take a dim view of healthy players who opt out, and (for a few) the enhanced opportunity to reach career milestones. Players are likely guessing, and talking to one another, about how winning the 2020 WS will be regarded and about the likelihood of going through the risks of pre-season training and then not getting in many games before the season implodes (along with the related uncertainty of the owners'  interest in pulling the plug if a full playoff schedule looks unlikely). 

Judging from the comments I see on this board and elsewhere, I am guessing players will be all over the place as to how they value these incentives, as well as the health risks.

BTW, I assume that once a player opts out, he's not eligible to return later in the season. Is that correct? 

[atomic]

Well we were scheduled to play the Braves as they are in NL East so that is a negative to Markakis opting out.  

Markakis has made over $120 million in his career and would only make $1.48 million this year if the whole 60 games get played.  Seems to be a trend that the guys who have made a ton of money in their career but not making much this year opt out.  Other than Price who has made more than a ton of money and will have a ton more money coming the next couple of seasons. 

[Redskins Rick]

1 hour ago, TommyPickles said:

Also, its odd that all nine players that have opted out have been from NL teams.

Price has made a ton of money, and will make more money.

Wasnt he nicked up?

As a lefty, if he can breathe and get it over the plate, he will have a spot somewhere. He will be 48 and like Jamie Moyer pitching somewhere.

[UpstateNYfan]

20 hours ago, survivedc said:

Sounds like you don’t understand it.

MLB hasn’t introduced a bubble for teams and these will be the same divisions as any other year. 

FTR, I think some level of the social distancing will dissipate as the season goes on. When Euro soccer came back they talked a lot about keeping players apart and no touching etc and if you watch a game now most of that has gone away. 

If that is all you got from my reasoning why  a veteran MLB player might chose not to play this season then I guess  you miss the point. The "leagues", not divisions are different. I stand corrected, but it will likely not anywhere like a normal season, and if you can afford it, why end your career with an asterisk. 

[SteveA]

Pirate reliever Hector Noesi

(Initial post in this thread updated with all the guys who have opted out so far)

[Legend_Of_Joey]

 

[NCRaven]

Hate beating a dead horse; and with full knowledge that politics has been pulled into this far too much and a desire to keep it from happening here - 

Statistically, the chance of serious illness or death for a child or teenager is near 0.  For an otherwise healthy, young adult in their 20's and 30's, it's barely above 0.  Trey Mancini would, if ready to play, be at risk and fully justified in opting out.  He would be entitled to his pay and service time.

For healthy adults, the choice is simply one of convenience and personal choice, not medical necessity.  And, the population of opt outs seems to be entirely composed of veterans that have already earned a significant amount over their careers.  Nick Markakis was not going to make the HoF anyway, unless an Angelos is on the veterans' selection committee one day (apologies to Harold Baines for the dig).

[SteveA]

3 minutes ago, NCRaven said:

Hate beating a dead horse; and with full knowledge that politics has been pulled into this far too much and a desire to keep it from happening here - 

Statistically, the chance of serious illness or death for a child or teenager is near 0.  For an otherwise healthy, young adult in their 20's and 30's, it's barely above 0.  Trey Mancini would, if ready to play, be at risk and fully justified in opting out.  He would be entitled to his pay and service time.

For healthy adults, the choice is simply one of convenience and personal choice, not medical necessity.  And, the population of opt outs seems to be entirely composed of veterans that have already earned a significant amount over their careers.  Nick Markakis was not going to make the HoF anyway, unless an Angelos is on the veterans' selection committee one day (apologies to Harold Baines for the dig).

So?

Not sure exactly what point you are trying to make.  Ten or eleven guys have chosen to opt out of the season and forfeit their salary, there will probably be some more who make that choice.

It's their decision to make.   We discuss it as baseball fans because it affects the he we love, just as we would mention that Chris Sale is out for the year with Tommy John surgery.

[NCRaven]

Just now, SteveA said:

So?

Not sure exactly what point you are trying to make...

It's their decision to make.   We discuss it as baseball fans because it affects the he we love, just as we would mention that Chris Sale is out for the year with Tommy John surgery.

Not saying that it's not worth discussing.  Discussing it is exactly what we're doing right now.  Just pointing out that the actual risk to most professional athletes in the prime of their careers is actually quite small.  They are one of the few classes of people that can afford to make a decision like this when they are at very little risk to begin with by virtue of their age, health, and a job that doesn't bring them into contact with large numbers of people that might be infected under the conditions that they'll be playing in this year.