Headlines

  • Carlos Martinez Receives 80-Game Suspension After Positive PED Test
  • Yankees Sign Matt Carpenter To Major League Contract
  • 2022-23 MLB Free Agent Power Rankings
  • Alex Reyes To Undergo Shoulder Surgery
  • Counsell: Freddy Peralta To Miss “Significant” Time
  • Dodgers Extend Blake Treinen
  • Previous
  • Next
Register
Login
  • Hoops Rumors
  • Pro Football Rumors
  • Pro Hockey Rumors

MLB Trade Rumors

  • Home
  • Teams
    • AL East
      • Baltimore Orioles
      • Boston Red Sox
      • New York Yankees
      • Tampa Bay Rays
      • Toronto Blue Jays
    • AL Central
      • Chicago White Sox
      • Cleveland Guardians
      • Detroit Tigers
      • Kansas City Royals
      • Minnesota Twins
    • AL West
      • Houston Astros
      • Los Angeles Angels
      • Oakland Athletics
      • Seattle Mariners
      • Texas Rangers
    • NL East
      • Atlanta Braves
      • Miami Marlins
      • New York Mets
      • Philadelphia Phillies
      • Washington Nationals
    • NL Central
      • Chicago Cubs
      • Cincinnati Reds
      • Milwaukee Brewers
      • Pittsburgh Pirates
      • St. Louis Cardinals
    • NL West
      • Arizona Diamondbacks
      • Colorado Rockies
      • Los Angeles Dodgers
      • San Diego Padres
      • San Francisco Giants
  • About
    • MLB Trade Rumors
    • Tim Dierkes
    • Writing team
    • Advertise
    • Archives
  • Contact
  • Tools
    • 2021-22 MLB Free Agent Tracker
    • 2021-22 MLB Free Agent List
    • 2022-23 MLB Free Agent List
    • Top 50 Free Agents
    • Projected Arbitration Salaries For 2022
    • Transaction Tracker
    • Extension Tracker
    • Arbitration Tracker
    • Agency Database
  • NBA/NFL/NHL
    • Hoops Rumors
    • Pro Football Rumors
    • Pro Hockey Rumors
  • App
  • Chats
Go To Pro Hockey Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Felix Hernandez Opts Out Of 2020 Season

By Mark Polishuk | July 4, 2020 at 9:54pm CDT

Felix Hernandez is the latest player who has opted against participating in the 2020 season, as his agent Wilfredo Polidor tweeted this evening.  The longtime Mariners ace and former AL Cy Young Award winner signed a minor league deal with the Braves in January, and was named on Atlanta’s initial 60-man player pool.

Concerns over the COVID-19 crisis prompted Hernandez’s decision, as has been the common theme among other players (David Price, Ian Desmond, Joe Ross, Tyson Ross, Mike Leake, Ryan Zimmerman, and Welington Castillo) who have also declined to play in the abbreviated 2020 season.  That list will surely grow in the coming days and weeks as more players consider their personal situations and health situations around the United States.

In Hernandez’s case, he will be foregoing what was shaping up as an interesting semi-comeback attempt back in Spring Training.  The right-hander has struggled with both injuries and ineffectiveness over the last three seasons, including a 6.40 ERA over 71 2/3 innings in 2019.  Departing Seattle after 15 years, Hernandez caught on with the Braves and posted a 1.98 ERA over 13 2/3 frames of Spring Training work, creating some excitement that “King Felix” had a bounce-back performance left in the tank.

Hernandez was one of the favorites for the rotation spot left open by Cole Hamels’ injury, though the delayed start to the 2020 season has meant that Hamels will likely be available by the new Opening Day (projected for July 23).  This left only the fifth starter job open, with Kyle Wright and Sean Newcomb in competition with Hernandez.  It’s possible the Braves could join other teams in deploying a six-man rotation or more creative methods like openers or piggybacked starters in order to keep everyone fresh, though they will have one less option on hand with Hernandez now unavailable.

Retirement was rather definitively not on Hernandez’s mind last September, and while sitting out the season doesn’t mean Hernandez is any closer to calling it a career, he’ll face a tougher path in finding another minors deal this coming winter.  Despite his past track record, the righty will be hampered by his lack of recent results, his age (35 next April), and the fact that Hernandez will have gone over 18 months without a big league appearance.  The 2020-21 free agent market is also likely to be the most unusual and competitive in history, as team financial restraints could result in a lot of veterans having to settle for lower-than-expected deals, squeezing the market even further for reclamation projects like Hernandez.  That said, there’s no risk to a team in taking a flier on Hernandez on a minor league contract and seeing what he has next spring.

Share 0 Retweet 25 Send via email0

Atlanta Braves Newsstand Felix Hernandez

4 Marlins Players Test Positive For Coronavirus
Main
Braves Coach Eric Young Sr. Opts Out Of 2020 Season
View Comments (0)

Comments for this post have been closed by the site administrator.

ad: 300x250_1_MLB

    Top Stories

    Carlos Martinez Receives 80-Game Suspension After Positive PED Test

    Yankees Sign Matt Carpenter To Major League Contract

    2022-23 MLB Free Agent Power Rankings

    Alex Reyes To Undergo Shoulder Surgery

    Counsell: Freddy Peralta To Miss “Significant” Time

    Dodgers Extend Blake Treinen

    Brewers To Place Freddy Peralta On Injured List Due To Shoulder Tightness

    Mariners Sign Justin Upton

    Chad Green To Undergo Tommy John Surgery

    Orioles Promote Adley Rutschman

    Luis Gil To Undergo Tommy John Surgery

    Carter Kieboom To Undergo Tommy John Surgery

    Cardinals To Promote Nolan Gorman, Matthew Liberatore; Tyler O’Neill To IL

    Max Scherzer Likely Out Six To Eight Weeks Due To Oblique Strain

    Chris Paddack Undergoes Tommy John Surgery

    Recent

    Carlos Martinez Receives 80-Game Suspension After Positive PED Test

    Reds Select Graham Ashcraft

    Big Hype Prospects: Torkelson, Duran, Rodriguez, Pasquantino, Yepez

    Mariners Select Roenis Elias

    Joe Ross Suffers Setback In Rehab From Elbow Injury

    Kris Bryant Expected To Miss 2-3 Weeks

    Cubs Notes: Hoerner, Payroll, Simmons, Madrigal

    Matt Manning Shut Down From Rehab Assignment With Biceps Tendinitis

    Yankees Sign Matt Carpenter To Major League Contract

    Yankees Sign Shane Greene To Minors Deal

    MLBTR Newsletter - Hot stove highlights in your inbox, five days a week

    Latest Rumors & News

    Latest Rumors & News

    • Trevor Story Rumors
    • Frankie Montas Rumors
    • Michael Conforto Rumors
    • Arbitration Tracker
    Trade Rumors App for iOS and Android

    MLBTR Features

    MLBTR Features

    • Go Ad-Free
    • MLB Player Chats
    • 2021-22 MLB Free Agent Tracker
    • 2021-22 MLB Free Agent List
    • Top 50 Free Agents
    • 2022-23 MLB Free Agent List
    • Projected Arbitration Salaries For 2022
    • Transaction Tracker
    • Extension Tracker
    • Agency Database
    • MLBTR On Twitter
    • MLBTR On Facebook
    • Team Facebook Pages
    • How To Set Up Notifications For Breaking News
    • Hoops Rumors
    • Pro Football Rumors
    • Pro Hockey Rumors

    Rumors By Team

    • Angels Rumors
    • Astros Rumors
    • Athletics Rumors
    • Blue Jays Rumors
    • Braves Rumors
    • Brewers Rumors
    • Cardinals Rumors
    • Cubs Rumors
    • Diamondbacks Rumors
    • Dodgers Rumors
    • Giants Rumors
    • Guardians Rumors
    • Mariners Rumors
    • Marlins Rumors
    • Mets Rumors
    • Nationals Rumors
    • Orioles Rumors
    • Padres Rumors
    • Phillies Rumors
    • Pirates Rumors
    • Rangers Rumors
    • Rays Rumors
    • Red Sox Rumors
    • Reds Rumors
    • Rockies Rumors
    • Royals Rumors
    • Tigers Rumors
    • Twins Rumors
    • White Sox Rumors
    • Yankees Rumors

    ad: 160x600_MLB

    Navigation

    • Sitemap
    • Archives
    • Feeds by Team

    MLBTR INFO

    • Advertise
    • About
    • Commenting Policy
    • Privacy Policy

    Connect

    • Contact Us
    • Twitter
    • Facebook
    • RSS Feed

    MLB Trade Rumors is not affiliated with Major League Baseball, MLB or MLB.com

    hide arrowsFOX Sports Engage Network scroll to top
    Close

    Desktop Version | Switch To Mobile Version