As baseball advances towards a restarted 2020 MLB season, a handful of players are already turning their back on any plan to return to action. New Los Angeles pitcher David Price became the first Dodgers player to choose this route, announcing on social media that he would be opting out of the upcoming season over concerns about his family’s health during the coronavirus pandemic.
— David Price (@DAVIDprice24) July 4, 2020
According to a Los Angeles Times report, Price, who has two children under the age of four, was said to still be undecided on the new season as recently as Wednesday, when he showed up for the first day of Dodgers training camp as the team prepares to start the 60-game season on July 23rd. That’s according to Dodgers president of baseball operations, Andrew Friedman, who said he supports Price’s decision:
I think just talking to his family, he kind of arrived at this point. And my role in this has been just to support him through it and not have any rooting interest in what is a very personal decision.
The 35-year-old starting pitcher was sent to Los Angeles by the Boston Red Sox in February, as part of the trade that also brought over Mookie Betts to Southern California. His first start for the Dodgers will have to wait beyond this coronavirus-shortened season, as might his first paycheck: if MLB medical personnel did not judge him to be a “high-risk” player with regards to COVID-19, Price will forfeit his salary from the shortened season, said to be around $11.8 million by The Los Angeles Times.
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Read the full story at The Los Angeles Times
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