Felix Hernandez opts out of 2020 season due to concerns surrounding COVID-19

The baseball landscape is going to be looking very different once Opening Day arrives and the season can get underway. We’ve already seen a decent pool of players test positive for coronavirus (with Freddie Freeman already set to miss the start of the regular season due to his ongoing battle with COVID-19) and we’re also starting to see some more players decide to opt-out of the season altogether.

Unfortunately for the Braves but completely understandable from a public health standpoint, they will have to go without one of their pitchers for this upcoming season. According to his agent, Felix Hernandez has decided to opt out of the 2020 season due to concerns surrounding COVID-19.

Even though Felix was fighting for a job back when spring training was going on, he had done pretty well for himself and would’ve likely been with the team had the season started on time. It’s also very likely that he would’ve made the 30-man roster as well, so it’s safe to say that this may have thrown a tiny wrench in the Braves’ plans when it came to finalizing their roster. This should bring about an opportunity for a younger pitcher in the organization to take what would have likely been Felix’s spot, but you have to imagine that the Braves would have rather had him in their pitching staff this season.

Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images

On a sentimental note, it’s a huge bummer that we won’t get to see Felix take the mound in a regular season game for the Braves this season. There’s still plenty of questions as to just how effective the former Mariners ace would have been as a pitcher this year, but he had at least earned the chance to give it a go this season after his performance during spring training. It’s too bad that the pandemic had to happen, since this is one of many examples of how the current situation is adversely affecting things in the sports world.

The good news is that Felix Hernandez will now be able to focus on staying safe with his family while all of this is going on. We’ve already seen firsthand with the Braves just how risky it is for everybody involved with baseball right now, so I wouldn’t be shocked if we saw even more players continue to punt on this season and stay at home until next season. That includes Braves players as well — with coach Eric Young opting out, a few players testing positive for the coronavirus and now Felix Hernandez deciding to opt, it seems as if more changes are going to be inevitable if this ever-so-weird baseball season continues to go on as scheduled.