Marcus Stroman opts out of 2020 season, Derrius Guice’s NFL career is in jeopardy, and other sports news
The Mets were supposed to have one of the strongest rotations in baseball, but now they are without two former All-Stars.
If it wasn’t for bad luck, the Mets wouldn’t have any luck at all with their pitching staff. What looked like one of the strongest rotations in baseball has been weakened again.
Starting pitcher Marcus Stroman has decided to opt out of the 2020 season due to COVID-19 concerns. Stroman joins an injured Noah Syndergaard as two Mets pitchers who were projected to be members of the regular rotation.
Stroman will be a free agent at the end of the season.
“There’s just too many uncertainties, too many unknowns right now,” Stroman said.
Stroman suffered a torn muscle in his left calf during the Mets’ summer camp in July. He said that the decision has nothing to do with his injury.
Opting out before a big offseason shows how serious Stroman is about the health risks. A good season would have likely secured him a big free-agent deal.
Stroman has a career 3.76 ERA in six seasons, and he’s a one-time All-Star.
More details on domestic incident with former Washington running back Derrius Guice
Former Washington football team running back Derrius Guice’s NFL career may be ending early.
A former second-round pick, Guice’s career is in doubt after more details emerged Tuesday morning from his Friday arrest. Guice turned himself in after he was charged with one count of strangulation, three counts of assault, battery, and destruction of property for strangling his girlfriend on three occasions earlier this year. He was immediately released by Washington.
The Washington Post reported that Guice pushed and pulled his girlfriend, and strangled her until she was unconscious on another occasion in March.
Washington selected Guice in the second round of the 2018 NFL draft. He was initially considered a first-round pick after a standout career at LSU, but character concerns surfaced in the pre-draft process that caused him to fall.
The culture is changing in Washington under new head coach Ron Rivera, and Guice is the latest example.
“This afternoon we learned that there were multiple charges filed against Derrius,” Washington said in a statement on Friday. “Upon review of the nature of these charges and following internal discussions, we have decided to release Derrius immediately.”
Astros-Athletics have bench-clearing brawl could lead to suspensions
One thing commissioner Rob Manfred emphasized was that baseball can’t have brawls this season. With an emphasis being placed on social distancing, brawls could put more people at risk.
Baseball had its first incident on Sunday after the Houston Astros and Oakland Athletics had a bench-clearing incident.
A’s outfield Ramón Laureano was hit by a pitch and while standing on first base, he heard words from the Astros’ dugout that caused him to charge it.
Social distance rules were broken, so now all eyes are on Manfred. He could set the tone with how he handles this situation, so it doesn’t happen again.
Dodgers relief pitcher Joe Kelly was suspended eight games earlier this season after throwing at Astros hitters. This situation appears to be worse, so it’ll be intriguing to see what type of punishment Manfred inflicts.
The A’s are off to one of the best starts in baseball with a 12-4 record. Long suspensions on a 60-game schedule have the potential to completely change the course of a team’s season.