Paul Sullivan: Kopech's return to White Sox in 2020 wasn't in the stars, but the promising prospect will figure things out

CHICAGO — The Chicago White Sox on Friday announced the news many of us already had feared.

Michael Kopech is out again, though this time it was his choice.

The promising Sox starter opted out of the pandemic-shortened 2020 season, following San Francisco Giants catcher Buster Posey, who announced his decision not to play earlier in the day. Kopech and Posey joined a growing list of MLB players who have opted out, including David Price, Ryan Zimmerman, Ian Desmond and Nick Markakis.

Kopech, 24, surely won’t be the last player to do so as the coronavirus crisis continues to spread while baseball attempts to start its season.

The news wasn’t all that surprising after Kopech didn’t report to summer camp last week for “personal reasons.” The Sox made the announcement after the camp workout Friday, with general manager Rick Hahn saying in a statement they were “understanding and supportive” of the decision and look forward to Kopech’s return in 2021.

Kopech was unavailable for comment.

Two Sox players tested positive before camp opened last week. The team has not revealed the names, citing privacy regulations. Third baseman Yoan Moncada and pitcher Jose Ruiz both were placed on the 10-day injured list Friday without explanation.

Kopech missed the entire 2019 season after undergoing Tommy John surgery on his right elbow in September 2018 and eagerly awaited his comeback this year. He married his girlfriend, actress Vanessa Morgan, in January and had dropped off social media.

At SoxFest in January, Kopech told me was planning to live in the moment instead of looking for something off in the distance. He was very open about suffering from anxiety issues, saying he had dealt with them his entire life.

“It was just the idea of just seeking for more,” he said. “The revelation I can’t seek for more for the rest of my life was the blessing of being called up to the big leagues. I got there and I got to live it, but what’s more at that point? I stopped looking for more, and it allowed me to not look too far ahead, not dwell on what I’d done wrong, just be myself and live through the moment.

“I look forward to embracing that opportunity when the season comes and just being myself on the mound.”

The baseball world changed when the coronavirus outbreak led to the cancellation of spring training on March 12 and delayed the season, but once a start date was announced, at least Sox fans could look forward to a healthy Kopech beginning 2020 in the rotation. Now he’ll have to wait another nine months until opening day 2021, at which point Kopech will have gone more than 2 1/2 years without pitching in a major league game.

Most players opting out have made a significant amount of money in the majors, while Kopech is still a long way from free agency with only one full year of service time. Players are not penalized for opting out, but it was not known if Kopech would be paid.

Posey told reporters earlier that he opted out because he and his wife adopted twin girls who were born prematurely and were in a neonatal intensive care unit, in which they’ll spend at least the next four months. He won’t be paid the prorated amount of his $21.4 million salary because he’s not considered high-risk.

Still, the risk of contracting COVID-19 and spreading it to his babies wasn’t worth it, he said, adding the decision to opt out was “relatively easy.”

“It came down to unknowns,” Posey said. “Talking to different doctors, there’s no solid answers. If the babies contract the virus, will it affect them immediately, will it affect them in the long term? Unfortunately, there’s just no data right now. This is so new that we just don’t have answers.”

The risks involved in playing sports during the pandemic are not going away soon, and all the health and safety protocols can’t guarantee teams won’t be exposed to the virus. Asked earlier this week if he expected any of his players to opt out, Cubs manager David Ross said he only could take things on a day-to-day basis.

The conundrum players face as they attempt to start the season will be trying to build and maintain a fun environment while battling coronavirus concerns.

“That’s the reality of living in this country in 2020 — you’re never divorced from concern, no matter what you’re doing,” Cubs President Theo Epstein said Friday at Wrigley Field. “Whether you’re home with your family or running errands or working from home or trying to pull off a baseball season in the middle of a pandemic, the subtext of everything you do is concern.

“Not just concern for yourself, not just concern for your family, but concern for your teammates, your colleagues, your brothers and sisters, your community, the country as a whole and the world as a whole — although certainly the rest of the word has seemingly managed their way into a better place at the moment than we have. …

“This is where we are right now as a country. There’s concern for everything we do. This is something we’re trying to pull off, and the only way we can pull it off is by keeping people safe and healthy.”

Kopech’s reasons for opting out aren’t known. Hopefully he and his family are healthy, but it’s his prerogative to keep his decision private. Certainly he will have the support of teammates and the Sox family, not to mention fans. Without being on the field much, Kopech already is one of the team’s most popular players.

And though his much-anticipated return will be delayed again, he seems to have the right attitude about life. When we spoke at SoxFest about his comeback, Kopech said he just wanted to compete and give himself a chance.

“And if it’s not in the stars, I’ll figure it out along the way,” he said.

The comeback wasn’t in the stars for 2020. But rest assured, he’ll figure it out.

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