Twins understand the risks they face, sacrifices they must make - Grand Forks Herald

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No Twins have opted out of the season yet, but players around the league have started to, with pitchers David Price and Felix Hernandez making their decisions public over the weekend. The game’s best player, Los Angeles Angels superstar Mike Trout, has expressed his doubt and discomfort in playing with a pregnant wife at home who is due next month. Trout is not the only player who publicly has left the door open for potentially opting out in the future.

All across the league, players have reported to camp with different levels of comfort and concern as COVID-19 continues to spread throughout the country. For Major League Baseball’s 60-game season to work, players must both take risks and make sacrifices to daily life.

“There are guys across the spectrum as far as comfort level and anxiety levels and things like that,” manager Rocco Baldelli said. “I do think, the more you’re at the field and the more you’re on the field, the better you feel about the entire situation and the more comfort you get and the less stressed you might be.”

The Twins have already had their first dose of coronavirus-reality hit when first baseman Miguel Sano and catcher Willians Astudillo tested positive during the intake process. Both are asymptomatic and are quarantining at home until they test negative twice. Minor leaguers Edwar Colina and Nick Gordon, who are part of the team’s 60-player player pool, also tested positive at their homes in Florida.

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Arraez said he was “just a little nervous about the entire situation,” and seeing Sano and Astudillo test positive changed things for him “a little bit.” Arraez had been with Astudillo in Fort Myers and they had flown together, leading the Twins to hold Arraez out of practice on Friday as an extra precaution.

New starter Kenta Maeda said he didn’t feel too much concern — and that wearing a mask was a cultural norm in Japan, so he was used to it. He said he didn’t think he had any concerns with following the health protocols put into place.

Prized free agent acquisition Josh Donaldson also said he was not concerned about the situation, acknowledging that players all share a sense of accountability to make this 60-game season work.

“We (have) to be cautious of the new parameters of everything, but it’s not something that I’m in constant thought about, ‘Man, I’m hoping I’m not touching somebody or something like that,’” Donaldson said. “I’ve been around people, and I feel — I’m not that concerned right now with it, although it is a pandemic. I’m not trying to minimize it by any sense of the matter. But this is our job, and I need to be able to do what I need to do.”

Donaldson said he understood the decision Trout is up against, as he is also expecting a baby and had a similar choice to make for himself.

“I think at the end of the day each individual has the right to make up their mind as to what is the best,” Donaldson said. “I feel that at this spot in my career, it’s advantageous for me, myself, my family and this organization for me to be out there and play.”

To allow players to play, the health and safety protocols MLB and the MLB Players Association agreed to are lengthy — more than 100 pages — in an effort to keep players and staff members safe. They will require players to be diligent both at the ballpark, where they are under the team’s watch, and at home, where players have more freedom than other leagues — the NBA and MLS come to mind — but are asked to be smart and cautious.

“It is what it is,” Adrianza said. “We have to keep doing our protocols, be safe, stay home as much as possible and take care of the player, each other to be healthy during the season.”

Odorizzi said the “baseball stuff is somewhat OK,” even with all the new parameters, but the “mental drag,” is not being able to be with his wife and sons.

The Odorizzis made that decision with the understanding that 4-year-old Rhett and 1-year-old Maddex would be more comfortable at home with a pool and outdoors space rather than an apartment in the Twin Cities.

“I miss them daily. I miss my wife every day. It’s a lot of technology talking and seeing them,” Odorizzi said. “But sometimes you have to make adult decisions and do what’s right for the family when it comes down to it, even if it’s the tough thing to do.”

Odorizzi said he hadn’t thought about opting out of the season, but he understood and respected players who made the decision to do so to protect their health or the health of their families. As for what might make him opt out, he said he would take each day as it comes and if a piece of information changes for the next day, he would address it when he needed to.

“I don’t think anybody is super comfortable right now. How comfortable can you be when you’re going around, running around with one of these on (a mask), and doing everything?” Odorizzi said. “When it comes to the everyday baseball aspect of it, comfort is probably the last word that comes to mind, but we’re doing what we have to do to get ready. I don’t know if there will ever be a point of us being comfortable this year. There’s going to be so many changes to our daily lives that you’re gonna just have to adapt.”

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