Several professional athletes have decided to opt out of the 2020 season due to concerns or commitments involving their families, and Brock Holt could have done the same with a baby on the way. The MLB veteran doesn’t feel he has that luxury, however.
Holt, who signed with the Milwaukee Brewers this offseason after spending the last seven seasons with the Boston Red Sox, said Tuesday that he has not considered opting out of 2020 even with a pregnant wife at home. If he did, Holt says he would be concerned he wouldn’t have a job in 2021.
“I’m not in a position to opt out of a season,” Holt told reporters, via Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. “I feel like if I didn’t play this year, my baseball career would be over. If I didn’t play, it would be hard for me to find a job next year.”
MLB players are allowed to opt out of the 2020 season without losing their pro-rated salaries if they are deemed “high-risk.” Players who are not considered high-risk are also free to opt out, but they would lose their salaries and not accrue a season of service time, meaning Holt would be a free agent after the season if he sat out.
“If I was in a different situation contractually, it’s definitely something I would have considered with my wife being pregnant,” Holt added. “If I had a contract with enough years or enough money to sit out a year, not play and not have to worry about not having a job next year, I think opting out would have been an easier decision considering the situation me and my family are in right now. Based on the situation I’m in, it was never really an option.”
Holt signed a one-year deal with the Brewers worth $2.5 million, so he is set to make less than $1 million this year with a prorated salary. Milwaukee holds a club option of $5 million for him for next season. The utility man hit .297 in 87 games for the Red Sox last year and is a career .271 hitter.
While Holt has made nearly $10 million thus far in his career, we know at least one player who opted out that has far less to concern himself with financially.
