Good morning, Athletics Nation!
One feature of the upcoming 2020 MLB season is that players have the right to opt out entirely, amid the coronavirus pandemic. Those who are deemed medically high-risk by team doctors will still receive their salaries and service time, but everyone else is also allowed to sit out with no questions asked — albeit also with no pay or service time.
Monday brought word of the first players to exercise that opt-out, including the following four names:
- RHP Mike Leake, D’Backs
- RHP Joe Ross, Nationals
- 1B Ryan Zimmerman, Nationals
- OF Ian Desmond, Rockies
Leake was the first whose intentions were made public, by insider Steve Gilbert.