#Marcus Stroman becomes second Mets player to opt out of season

The Mets announced Monday the right-hander decided to sit out the rest of the season because of coronavirus concerns. He becomes the second Mets player to opt out, eight days after Yoenis Cespedes left the team in Atlanta without initially informing the Mets of his decision.

Stroman, who had been working his way back from a preseason calf injury, said he made his decision with his family and it is purely based on COVID-19, not because of his calf. Stroman, 29, is set to become a free agent at the end of the year without throwing a pitch in 2020. He said the decision was “weighing on” him daily.

“This is not something that I wanted,” Stroman said. “This was a collective decision for my family, for our best interests. Because I’m such a competitor, it was incredibly hard to finally come up with this decision.”