Buster Posey officially opts out of the 2020 MLB season

SF Giants catcher Buster Posey has officially opted out of the 2020 season.

Buster Posey has officially made his decision. After weeks of speculation regarding his status for the upcoming 2020 season, the longtime SF Giants catcher has decided to opt-out of the upcoming campaign.

Posey had been weighing his options for weeks taking into account his family life and baseball career, but on Friday, he officially announced his intentions. And it’s impossible to blame him.

As per Andrew Baggarly of The Athletic, Posey and his wife, Kristen, are in the process of adopting identical twin girls which is the reason for his absence in camp over the past few days.

Baggarly stated that the twins were born prematurely and are currently stable, but they will be in NICU for some time. As a result, Posey doesn’t feel comfortable playing this season amidst persistent concerns about COVID-19.

Posey joins a host of other MLB players including the likes of David Price, Ryan Zimmerman, Felix Hernandez, and former Giants pitcher Tyson Ross — along with his brother Joe Ross.

Baggarly later reported that Posey insisted he “probably would have chosen to play if the babies had not been born prematurely.” But given his situation, this is probably the right call to make.

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After all that Buster Posey has given the Giants organization, he deserves this break to be with his family. Giants fans will miss him, but his decision will undoubtedly be respect.

Who will replace Buster Posey in the SF Giants lineup?

The question now shifts to how the Giants will go about replacing Posey. Simply put, his on and off-field leadership cannot be replicated. You can stick someone else at the catcher position, but there’s no matching the respect that his teammates have for him.

However, the obvious question is whether or not this will lead to top prospect Joey Bart receiving his first shot. Bart has impressed every step of the way, but the Giants have remained adamant about him getting more experience in the minors first.

On top of that, they may not want to burn through some of his service time in a shortened season, especially if it’s unclear whether they’ll be contenders or not.

If they don’t go with Bart, the veteran duo of Rob Brantly and Tyler Heineman will compete for playing time. Both have limited experience in the majors and represent nothing more than backup options at best.

Bart is the exciting option. Brantly and Heineman are the boring, safer options.

The Giants will miss Buster Posey in 2020, but his decision is probably for the best. Best of luck to Buster and Kristen with their newly adopted twins!