Health will be the question on everyone's mind this baseball season
Robinson Cano #24 of the Mets looks on after batting during summer camp at Citi Field on Thursday, July 16, 2020. Credit: Jim McIsaac
As Robinson Cano’s unexplained absence from Mets’ summer camp stretched to eight days, the speculation was unavoidable.
Was Cano infected with the coronavirus? Might he consider opting-out of the 60-game regular season?
Eight days is an eternity to be away, in any sport, and the Mets stuck to MLB’s policy of staying quiet on any injuries or maladies not directly related to baseball. Technically, you could say any health-related problem that keeps a player off the field is pertinent to the game. But this year, with the COVID-19 pandemic still raging, privacy has become paramount, along with a closer adherence to HIPAA laws.
Still, Cano was politely asked Thursday if he was willing to share the reason why he was missing from camp for eight days. And he declined just as politely.
“I had some personal issues that I would like to keep to myself,” Cano said on a video-conference with reporters.
Cano also thanked the Mets for understanding, and that was that. Since Cano has now fully participated in team workouts at Citi Field for the past two days, whatever kept him away no longer seems to be an issue. As far as anyone can tell from a distance, he looks the same, and Cano said he plans on being in the Opening Day lineup on July 24 against the Braves.
Given his absence, however, I was curious if Cano maybe considered opting-out, as 13 players already have, including some big names like David Price, Buster Posey, Ryan Zimmerman, Nick Markakis and Felix Hernandez. It’s always possible that a player has some underlying condition that the public doesn’t know about, or even family members that could be high-risk, so the potential exists more than we think. But Cano was adamant the thought didn’t cross his mind.
“Never, never,” Cano said. “I was so anxious at home waiting for the day we would be back. I have so much respect for the game and my teammates. For me personally, why would I go home? Because even if I go home, I can get the virus anywhere. I'm happy to be back and see my teammates, and everybody's healthy, and we’ll be able to play the game again.”
Cano, 37, made it sound like a no-brainer for him, and there is a financial incentive. Even in a 60-game season, he’s due roughly $8.9 million, and that’s a significant chunk of money. Then again, Cano already has earned more than $214 million over 15 seasons -- minus the nearly $12 million he lost to an 80-game PED suspension in ’18 -- so if he wanted to sit out the pandemic, that wouldn’t be such a shock, either.
This COVID-19 season presents the players with some hard choices, just like people in many other careers, who don’t have the option of working remotely. They’re putting themselves -- as well as their loved ones -- at a potentially increased risk of coming down with the virus. Plenty of players have been infected, and there certainly will be more. You can bet that the number of opt-outs also will increase.
“For a guy like me, that’s been in this game for so long, that’s already made money, it’s easier to walk away,” Cano said. “But also we have to respect their decision. This is a tough and hard and difficult situation, because we’ve never gone through this before -- to play 60 games and play the whole East Coast. I respect everyone’s decision. Whoever wants to play, good. If he's not, great.”
This summer-camp experience has been more about adjusting to the coronavirus protocols than getting up to baseball speed, which is not traditionally how spring training is supposed to work. And now the road ahead gets even more challenging, as teams will be forced to compete against two opponents: the one across the field along with an invisible foe that will haunt them 24/7.
It’s going to get more complicated, too. Clubs may know who they’re supposed to play, but the where could be a question mark. The Washington Post reported Thursday that the Nationals may need to bypass their D.C. ballpark due to strict guidelines that call for a 14-day quarantine for anyone who tests positive for COVID-19.
The alternatives? The Nats’ Class A park in Fredricksburg, Va. or the spring-training facility in West Palm Beach. Yes, that one. In Florida, which is currently overrun with the coronavirus. Not very appealing venues. But there aren’t any good options this season. Just varying degrees of bad ones.
But now that Cano is back, he’s trying to focus again on the baseball, without much prep time to do so. He insists the lost days won’t be a problem.
“I do feel good physically,” Cano said. “I was able to keep myself in shape.”
That has to be the No. 1 goal for everyone during this virus-threatened season. We’re not sure how to rank the rest of it.
David Lennon is an award-winning columnist, a voter for baseball's Hall of Fame and has covered six no-hitters, including two perfect games.
