Report: MLB could allow non-high risk players who opt out to change mind during season

Major League Baseball has given players who are not deemed high risk the right to opt out of playing the 2020 season. However, those players are not allowed to reconsider and change their mind later — at least as of now.

According to Jayson Stark of The Athletic, MLB and the MLBPA are discussing a “possible adjustment” to that rule, leaving the door open for players to potentially return in 2020.

Let's clarify the second point here.

It was MLB's original stance that non-high-risk players who opt out can't change their minds.

But MLB and the Players Association are still negotiating a possible adjustment to that position. https://t.co/MgzAs1AXav

— Jayson Stark (@jaysonst) June 29, 2020

MLB’s initial position is understandable. It doesn’t seem fair for a player to initially rule himself out, then change his mind later in the season. On the other hand, players are opting out for good reasons. No one knows how the current pandemic will evolve, and what does not feel safe to a player now could change in August or September.

A few high profile players who are not high risk have already chosen not to play in 2020. For now, we won’t see them again until 2021, but this rule bears watching.