The Milwaukee Brewers have announced that outfielder Lorenzo Cain has opted out of playing the remainder of the 2020 MLB season.
Cain has not stated his reasons for opting out, but it is very likely due to the apparent COVID-19 outbreak on the St. Louis Cardinals. Between 6 and 12 members of the Redbirds organization have reportedly tested positive. The Brewers were to have hosted their home opener at Miller Park last night against the Cardinals, but the game was postponed in light of these developments and so has tonight's scheduled game. A doubleheader is scheduled for Sunday, but this too is in doubt. In light of all the cancellations, MLB and the MLBPA have agreed to restrict doubleheaders to 7 innings apiece.
In five games with the Brewers this season, Cain had gone 6 for 18 (.333) without a HR and 2 RBI. Cain, 34, was originally drafted by the Brewers in 2004 and reached the majors with them in 2010. However, Cain has spent the bulk of his career with the Kansas City Royals which began after he was traded in the Zack Greinke deal. Cain enjoyed his best season in 2015 when he hit .307 with a career high 16 HR and 72 RBI along with 28 stolen bases en route to a World Series ring while finishing 3rd in AL MVP balloting.
Cain returned to the Brewers in 2018 signing a five year, $80 million contract. That season he made the All-Star Team for the second time in his career while finishing 7th in NL MVP balloting. In 2019, Cain earned his first career Gold Glove. As of this writing, Cain has played in 1050 games, collected 1128 hits for a lifetime batting average of .288 with 78 HR and 409 RBI along with 175 stolen bases.
The departure of Cain might just be the writing on the wall. Yesterday, MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred threatened to cancel the season. Honestly, the season should have never started in the first place. The time has now come to raise Cain.
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