San Francisco Giants star catcher Buster Posey opts out of MLB season

Giants star catcher Buster Posey decided to opt out of the 2020 season Friday out of health concerns for his newly adopted twin baby girls during the coronavirus pandemic.

The babies were born about eight weeks prematurely last Friday and Posey and his wife, Kristen, finalised the adoption on Thursday.

Ada and Livvi are healthy but will need to spend time in neonatal intensive care and will have weakened immune systems for the next few months.

“In the current state that we are right now and these babies being as fragile as they are for the next four months, at minimum, this ultimately wasn’t that difficult a decision for me,” Posey said. “From a baseball standpoint, it was a tough decision. From a family standpoint and feeling like I’m making a decision to protect our children, I think it was relatively easy.”

Posey is one of the most prominent players to opt out of the season as a six-time All-Star, the 2012 NL MVP and a three-time World Series champion with San Francisco.

He joined other notable players like Dodgers pitcher David Price, Washington first baseman Ryan Zimmerman, Colorado’s Ian Desmond, Arizona pitcher Mike Leake in deciding not to take part in the 60-game season that starts on July 23.

Posey said he and his wife have been trying to adopt children over the past few years without success. In one case, they even had a baby for a few days only to have the birth parents change their mind after.

Posey said he, Kristen, and 8-year-old twins Lee and Addie were “overwhelmed with joy” over the latest additions to their family.

Giants president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi and manager Gabe Kapler both said they support their star player’s decision and wished Posey’s family the best.