Dodgers pitcher David Price announced he would sit out the 2020 MLB season on Saturday.
In a Twitter post, the 2012 AL CY Young winner said he spent considerable time discussing the matter with the Dodgers organization as well as with his family.
“I have decided it is in the best interest of my health and my family’s health for me to not play this season. I will miss my teammates and will be cheering them on throughout the season and on to a World Series victory.”
Price is the latest player to opt out of the season that was delayed by coronavirus and is one more reason why baseball probably just needs to be shelved as the country continues to see record highs in new cases.
He joins Mike Leake, Ryan Zimmerman, Ian Desmond, Joe Ross and free-agent Tyson Ross as major leaguers who have decided to sit out the shortened 60-game season.
Price’s announcement comes on the heels of the best player in the game, the Los Angeles Angels’ Mike Trout, saying he had a difficult decision between playing or sitting out to be with his pregnant wife. MLB reported that 38 players and coaches have tested positive for COVID-19. Although names were not released, four Atlanta players made their results public: Freddie Freeman, Will Smith, Touki Toussaint and Pete Kozma.
Price has a 150-80 record and a 3.31 ERA in a 12-year major league career that began with the Tampa Bay Rays. He also pitched for Detroit and Toronto before spending the past five seasons with the Boston Red Sox, winning a World Series in 2018. Price won that Cy Young in 2012 and finished second twice (2010, 2015).
Price was traded to the Dodgers in the offseason, along with 2018 AL MVP Mookie Bettts in a laughably one-sided trade.
His contract calls for him to make $32M in 2020, although his prorated salary would be under $12M.
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