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Michael Kopech Opts Out Of 2020 Season

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White Sox righty Michael Kopech has opted out of the 2020 season, per a club announcement. He was working his way back from Tommy John surgery.

In other news from White Sox camp, infielder Yoan Moncada and righty Jose Ruiz have each been placed on the 10-day injured list. Further details are not known at this time.

Kopech did not reveal his personal decisionmaking process in the announcement. Pursuant to the modified rules for the 2020 season, players have the exclusive right to opt out without penalty. Those that have a particular medical basis for the decision can retain their salary and service time; others sacrifice those things.

It’s not clear in this case whether Kopech will continue to accrue service time in the 2020 season. If not, the 24-year-old will begin the 2021 campaign with just over one full season of MLB service.

Kopech is one of the most exciting young talents in the White Sox organization. He debuted in 2018, showing big stuff but ultimately coming down with a torn ulnar collateral ligament.

Buster Posey Opts Out Of 2020 Season

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Giants catcher Buster Posey has decided to opt out of the 2020 season, he announced in a Zoom call with reporters today. Posey explained that he and his wife have adopted twin girls who were born prematurely at 32 weeks. They’re in stable condition but will be in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit for the time being. Both manager Gabe Kapler and president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi have voiced full support of Posey in his decision.

“With these babies being as fragile as they are, for the next four months at minimum,” Posey said, the decision was easy from a family perspective. The former NL Rookie of the Year and MVP acknowledged that from a pure baseball standpoint, the decision to sit the season out did weigh on him, but he feels strongly that he’s making the best decision for his family. Posey had been absent from Giants Summer Camp for the past two days.

Though Posey himself is not a high-risk individual, his decision serves as yet another reminder that there’s far more to consider than individual well-being when it comes to the current pandemic. We’ve seen many players with family decisions grapple with the same issues that Posey articulately described in his announcement. Ryan Zimmerman was the first such player to opt out with those concerns in mind, but Posey now becomes the tenth veteran to do so. Others, including Sean Doolittle and Mike Trout, have voiced some reservation about playing due to concerns within their own families.

Because Posey himself isn’t high-risk, he won’t receive service time in 2020 and won’t be paid the prorated version of his $21.4MM salary (roughly $7.9MM). His absence will leave a sizable hole in the team’s clubhouse — a fact that both Zaidi and Kapler have emphasized — and will also leave the Giants severely thin behind the plate. Presumptive backup Aramis Garcia had hip surgery that could sideline him all season, and the only other catchers in the organization who have called a big league game are Rob Brantly and Tyler Heineman.

It’s true that the Giants have one of MLB’s best catching prospects, 2018 No. 2 overall pick Joey Bart, but he’s yet to play a game above Double-A (where he played in just 22 games last season). Posey’s absence could certainly open the door for Bart, but Zaidi also cautioned against expecting Bart to be thrust into a starring role (Twitter link via Andrew Baggarly of The Athletic): “This is a tough environment to evaluate young position players when you went in thinking they needed more competitive reps at Double-A or Triple-A.”

The Giants will add another catcher to their player pool, Zaidi continued (via the San Francisco Chronicle’s John Shea), be it an external acquisition or a promotion from within the Giants’ ranks. There aren’t many free agents of note who have gone unsigned. Russell Martin is a notable exception and was said to be seeking a team back in February, though it’s possible that what has transpired since has altered his plans. Veteran Jesus Sucre also went unsigned this winter, and the Dodgers recently cut Jose Lobaton loose. Given the thin supply in free agency, the Giants could simply stay in-house or look into acquiring a non-roster veteran who is in camp with another club.

Five Potential Mets Buyers Submit Bids

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10:16pm: Charles Gasparino of FOX Business tweets that Cohen has told the Wilpons he’d be willing to pay $2 billion for the team and $2 billion for SNY. It’s not entirely clear that offers on SNY are even being entertained, though Cohen could certainly make an aggressive bid to buy a controlling stake in hope of forcing the Wilpons’ hand. If the numbers here are accurate, it’s hard to envision most other buyers being able to compete.

9:05pm: The initial bid from the Rodriguez/Lopez group is “around” $1.7 billion, Thornton McEnery of the New York Post tweets.

8:40pm: At least five interested groups formally submitted bids to buy the Mets on Thursday, Sportico’s Scott Soshnick reports. Among them are previously reported groups led by Alex Rodriguez and Jennifer Lopez; New Jersey Devils and Philadelphia 76ers owners David Blitzer and Josh Harris; and, perhaps of most intrigue to Mets fans, New York billionaire and current minority stakeholder Steve Cohen. All offers submitted today are preliminary, non-binding offers which can still be altered, Soshnick writes.

Cohen was not only in talks to buy the Mets in late 2019 and early 2020 but actually had an agreement in place to increase his stake in the team from eight percent to 80 percent over a five-year period. However, that deal fell apart in February — reportedly after managing partner Fred Wilpon and son Jeff (the Mets’ COO) sought to alter some terms at the eleventh hour. Neither party would comment directly on why the deal crumbled. Cohen said in a statement at the time:

I’m very disappointed we couldn’t work out a deal, but as an eight percent holder I’m looking forward to a higher bid for the team.  I want to thank the fans for their support and the respect they showed me and I want to thank Commissioner Manfred and MLB for their support through the process.  I gave it my best shot.

Cohen, a New York native with a net worth estimated at one point to be in excess of $13 billion, grew up as a Mets fan. That has given current fans hope that he could substantially up the team’s payroll in the event that he is ultimately victorious in his apparently renewed pursuit of a purchase. Whether that was actually the case earlier this year can’t be known, and it’s particularly up for debate whether it’d play out in such a manner following substantial revenue losses and a stark economic downturn. Cohen’s initial bid on the Mets was reported to be a whopping $2.6 billion. Updated bids are expected to be lower, however, due both to recent economic turmoil and the fact that the current sale is said not to include any stake in the SNY Network.

The other ownership groups, of course, shouldn’t be counted out. While few can match Cohen’s considerable net worth, the A-Rod/J-Lo group recently enlisted Florida Panthers owner Vinnie Viola and VitaminWater and BodyArmor co-founder Mike Repole to bolster its resources. Harris and Blitzer already own a pair of U.S. sports teams, and Harris has a minority stake in an English Premier League club, so this is familiar territory.

There’s also been reported interest in the Mets from U.K. billionaires David and Simon Reuben. The brothers carry a net worth even greater than that of Cohen — a reported $14 billion — and have interest in expanding their broad-reaching real estate and retail enterprise into New York in the near future. Bloomberg reported that they recently purchased retail space in Manhattan, and they’re said to have interest in developing the land around Flushing’s Citi Field. Whether they’re one of the five (or more) groups to have formally submitted a bid isn’t yet clear.

As many as seven groups were pre-approved by Major League Baseball recently. The Wilpons are aiming to complete a sale of the team by end of year.

Blue Jays Agree To Terms With Austin Martin

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July 8: Martin has signed his deal and will be paid a $7,000,825 bonus, tweets MLB.com’s Jim Callis. That’s roughly $800K over slot and makes Martin the second-highest-paid player in this year’s draft — trailing only top overall pick Spencer Torkelson. An official announcement from the Jays should come in the near future.

July 3: The Blue Jays have reached a deal with first-round pick Austin Martin, reports Sportsnet’s Hazel Mae (Twitter link). The former Vanderbilt shortstop/third baseman will need to pass a physical before his deal with the club becomes official. Bonus details aren’t yet known, but Martin’s No. 5 overall draft slot is valued at $6.18MM.

Austin Martin | Steven Branscombe-USA TODAY Sports

Considered by some to be the best all-around player in this year’s draft, Martin went a slight bit later than was generally expected after the O’s cut a deal with No. 2 pick Keston Hjerstad, thus saving some pool space for harder signs further down the line. The Marlins and Royals opted for pitchers with the next two selections, suddenly leaving a player who at times was in the conversation at No. 1 overall for the Jays to scoop up at No. 5.

Martin doesn’t have the massive power that top pick Spencer Torkelson possesses, but he’s a left-side infielder or center field option, giving him more defensive value. And he’s still a high-end offensive prospect in his own right. MLB.com gives Martin a hearty 65-grade hit tool and 50-grade (solid-average) power, while FanGraphs’ Eric Longenhagen gives him a 60 future hit tool and 55 power.

Martin’s natural hitting ability was on display for all to see throughout his NCAA career, as he posted video-game-esque numbers dating back to his freshman season. In all, his Commodores career comes to a close with a ridiculous .376/.479/.521 batting line. He also struck out in fewer than 10 percent of his plate appearances between his sophomore and junior seasons.

The Athletic’s Keith Law ranked Martin as the best all-around prospect in this year’s draft “due to his combination of performance, athleticism and all-around quickness.” Baseball America, MLB.com and ESPN all ranked him behind Torkelson only, while FanGraphs had him third behind Torkelson and eventual No. 4 pick Asa Lacy (a lefty out of Texas A&M).

There’s some debate as to Martin’s final position, but it’s not for lack of defensive aptitude. Rather, most scouts seem to think he could handle any of third base, second base or center field, with shortstop not entirely out of the question. Toronto hopes to have Bo Bichette installed there for years to come, of course, so perhaps one of the other spots on the field is likelier. Regardless, the consensus on Martin is that he possesses elite bat-to-ball skills with still-developing power, speed, raw athleticism and a broad range of potential defensive homes. For a Jays club that saw Bichette, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Cavan Biggio all graduate to the Majors this past year, with Nate Pearson sure to follow in 2020, Martin represents yet another potential core piece to bring the club back to prominence in the ever-competitive AL East.

 

Astros Cancel Monday Workouts Due To Testing Delays

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10:45am: Astros GM James Click issued the following statement on today’s cancellation:

The safety of our players and staff remains our top priority at the Astros. The team is still awaiting results from the COVID-19 tests taken on Friday. Due to the delay in receiving these results, coupled with the contagious nature of the virus, we felt it was prudent to cancel today’s workouts at Minute Maid Park and the University of Houston. Players and staff continue to participate fully in the screening and testing protocols while we await these results. Despite these delays over the holiday weekend, we’re optimistic that this process will be ironed out and we’ll be back on the field and ready to compete for a championship soon.

10:10am: The Astros have canceled this morning’s workout due to delays in the results from their COVID-19 intake testing, Jake Kaplan of The Athletic reports (via Twitter). They’re the second team to do so, joining the Nationals. USA Today’s Bob Nightengale tweets that the Astros, like the Nats, have yet to receive their results from last week’s initial wave of testing. Kaplan and Ken Rosenthal add that the Astros weren’t tested either Saturday or Sunday but are expected to be tested again today.

At this point, it seems that the logistical challenges in mass testing are greater than MLB had anticipated. Through only three official days of “Summer Camp” we’ve now seen at least two teams cancel workouts due to a lack of test results, with others still possible given the snafus surrounding the Angels (whose testers didn’t show over the weekend) and Athletics (whose test results reportedly weren’t shipped on time by MLB and CDT).

Breakdowns like this in the testing cycle might be able to be overcome during Summer Camp as the league irons out its processes, but this is clearly a detriment both to avoiding broad-reaching infections and to readying for the tentative 2020 season. Today’s struggles also more loudly raise the question of what would happen if such an instance were to occur once the season is underway. It’s likely that games would need to be delayed or postponed absent the most recent testing data for a given team, and with the league aiming for 60 games in a span of 65 days, the margin for error is quite thin.

Nick Markakis Opts Out Of 2020 Season

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Braves outfielder Nick Markakis has opted out of playing this season, manager Brian Snitker announced to reporters this morning (Twitter link via Gabe Burns of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution). In doing so, he’ll forgo this year’s $4MM salary and the year of service time he’d have otherwise accrued.

Markakis himself tells reporters that there were multiple factors that ultimately led to his decision (Twitter links via Burns and Mark Bowman of MLB.com). Markakis says that a talk with Braves star Freddie Freeman, who tested positive for COVID-19 last week, proved pivotal. “That opened my eyes,” said Markakis. “He didn’t sound good.” Playing in the absence of fans was also a notable factor in his decision to sit out the season.

The 36-year-old Markakis has spent the past five seasons with the Braves, serving as a veteran guide and mentor through a rebuild that has seen the Atlanta organization return to perennial contender status in the NL East. Though he’s no longer the elite-level outfielder he was at his peak, Markakis was described by Snitker this morning as “the backbone of our club” — a nod to the veteran’s influence and standing in the clubhouse.

Markakis has surely thought long and hard over the decision, which comes just two day after Freeman, Will Smith, Touki Toussaint and Pete Kozma tested positive for COVID-19. Meanwhile, teams throughout the league have been delayed in getting test results back from Major League Baseball, which has resulted in the cancellation of workouts for two teams thus far.

Though he’s not playing in 2020, Markakis added that he hopes this won’t spell the end of his career (Twitter link via David O’Brien of The Athletic). Playing in 2021 will be another decision for another day, though, and will be dependent on the status of the pandemic and what the 2021 season will look like.

The absence of Markakis from the Braves lineup will remove a steadily productive hitter from the Atlanta outfield and designated hitter rotation. The 2018 All-Star has batted .284/.359/.403 in his five years with Atlanta and would’ve shared corner outfield/DH duties — likely working in a loose platoon setting with Adam Duvall. The Braves still have Marcell Ozuna, Ender Inciarte and wunderkind Ronald Acuna Jr. in the outfield picture, but the loss of Markakis still thins out their depth in notable fashion. Prospects Drew Waters and Cristian Pache loom on the horizon and could conceivably see accelerated paths to the big leagues as a result.

Markakis joins David Price, Ryan Zimmerman, Joe Ross, Tyson Ross, Welington Castillo, Ian Desmond, Mike Leake and brief teammate Felix Hernandez in opting not to participate in the 2020 season amid public health concerns.

Nationals Cancel Monday Morning Workouts Due To Testing Delays

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The Nationals have canceled their Monday morning workouts due to delays in Major League Baseball’s COVID-19 testing processes, general manager Mike Rizzo announced this morning. Rizzo issued the following statement:

Per MLB’s protocol, all players and staff were tested for Covid-19 on Friday, July 3rd. Seventy-two hours later, we have yet to receive the results of those tests. We cannot have our players and staff work at risk. Therefore, we have cancelled out team workout scheduled for this morning. We will not sacrifice the health and safety of our players, staff and their families. Without accurate and timely testing it is simply not safe for us to continue with Summer Camp. Major League Baseball needs to work quickly to resolve issues with their process and their lab. Otherwise, Summer Camp and the 2020 Season are at risk.

The Nationals are just one of several clubs experiencing delays in receiving the results of their COVID-19 intake testing. The Athletics’ test samples didn’t arrive at MLB’s lab in Salt Lake City until 1:30am MST today, Shayna Rubin of the San Jose Mercury News reported. The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal tweeted that testers who were assigned to the Angels and two other, yet-unknown clubs simply didn’t show over the weekend.

The Nats have already had three players — Ryan Zimmerman, Joe Ross and non-roster invitee Welington Castillo — opt out of playing in 2020. Closer Sean Doolittle has been outspoken about his conflicted feelings on the matter and the need for improved health-and-safety and testing protocols. Doolittle revealed yesterday that while he’s already been tested a second time, he’s still not received the results from his first test. That does not appear to have changed in the 24 hours since that revelation.

Felix Hernandez Opts Out Of 2020 Season

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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.

Phillies Keep Nola, Haseley, Bethancourt Out Of Camp Due To COVID-19 Protocols

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7:55PM: Updating his initial story, Breen reports that Nola, Haseley, and Bethancourt haven’t been placed on the COVID-19 injured list.  The three players have been kept out of camp due to coronavirus protocols, however, and could end up on the IL at some point.

5:41PM: Right-hander Aaron Nola, outfielder Adam Haseley, and utilityman Christian Bethancourt have been placed on the Phillies’ coronavirus injured list, according to Matt Breen of the Philadelphia Inquirer.  The team has yet to publicly announce the placements, and aren’t required to specify the reason for each player’s IL stint unless given permission by the players.

Placement on the COVID-19 IL doesn’t necessarily mean a player has the virus, as it could be that any or all of the trio only have symptoms, or came into contact with someone who was positive for coronavirus.  None of the three players have reported to the Phillies’ Summer Camp, as manager Joe Girardi said that Haseley was away “due to a medical condition,” and that in Nola’s case, “we’re trying to work our way through that.”

Nola, Haseley, and Bethancourt join Scott Kingery, Hector Neris, Tommy Hunter, and Ranger Suarez on Philadelphia’s already troublingly-large COVID-19 injured list.  It isn’t known if any of the players were among the dozen positive tests of players and staffers stemming from an outbreak at the Phillies’ Spring Training facility in Clearwater, though the Phils have certainly been the team hardest-hit by the virus to date.  A positive test results in a two-week quarantine, and the player must be symptom-free and have two negatives tests before returning to the field, so it’s possible the Phillies could be missing a significant chunk of their regular roster if even a few of these seven indeed have the virus.

Nola is Philadelphia’s projected Opening Day starter, while Haseley was penciled in for at least a share of center field duties.  Since Kingery was expected to cover the rest of the center field playing time, the Phils could be very short-handed up the middle if both Haseley and Kingery are out of action.

David Price Opts Out Of 2020 Season

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Dodgers left-hander David Price announced that he will not play during the 2020 season via a post on his Instagram page, as first reported by Julian McWilliams of the Boston Globe. Price becomes the highest-profile player to opt out of this year’s campaign, joining the likes of Ian Desmond and Ryan Zimmerman, with others likely yet to come.

The Dodgers acquired Price, 34, in the February blockbuster trade that also sent Mookie Betts to Los Angeles. He was set to embark on his first year in Los Angeles after a stint with the Red Sox that included a memorable postseason run culminating in a World Series title. However, with Price choosing not to play this year, the trade certainly looks a bit bleaker from the Dodgers’ point of view. Whereas the team thought it would get at least a whole year with Betts in the lineup and Price in the rotation, it’s looking increasingly likely that the pair will not play a game together in Los Angeles, with Betts set to reach free agency at season’s end.

By choosing not to play this year, Price will forfeit his prorated 2020 salary, which would have been roughly $11.9MM for a 60-game season. He will remain under contract with the Dodgers for two more years, valued at $64MM total. It’s worth mentioning that, with the Red Sox agreeing to shoulder half of Price’s $32MM salary for this year, Boston will also save nearly $6MM this season.

From a baseball perspective, Price’s absence will certainly be detrimental to the Dodgers’ title aspirations in 2020. With no Price in the rotation, expect to see Ross Stripling or Dustin May bumped into a regular starting role. The Dodgers have enviable depth in their starting pitching core, so they’re uniquely well-positioned to work around decisions like Price’s: Between Stripling, May, and Tony Gonsolin, the Dodgers have a host of young starters who can share the load in the rotation.

In the statement Price posted to social media, he says that he’s “decided it is in the best interest of my heath and my family’s health for me to not play this season.” His concerns are no doubt shared by plenty of players across baseball, with the Angels’ Mike Trout expressing a similar sentiment yesterday. We’ll see just how many players choose to forego the season out of concern over the coronavirus, but it’s almost certain the Price won’t be the last big name to do so.

The Dodgers, for their part, had the following to say regarding Price’s decision:

The Dodgers fully support David’s decision to sit out the 2020 season. We have been in constant contact with David and we understand how much this deliberation weighed on him and his family. We know he’ll be rooting hard for the club every day and look forward to having him back with us in 2021.

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