Jordan Hicks will not participate in the 2020 MLB season. Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports

Cardinals closer Jordan Hicks opts out of 2020 season due to pre-existing health concerns

By Zac Wassink | Last updated 7/13/20

On Monday, St. Louis Cardinals closer Jordan Hicks became the latest player to opt-out of participating in the 2020 season amid the worsening coronavirus pandemic.

Jordan Hicks has opted out of the 2020 season, citing pre-existing health concerns. pic.twitter.com/WjNhHaDqHy
— St. Louis Cardinals (@Cardinals) July 13, 2020

As noted by MLB Network insider Jon Heyman and others, the hard-throwing 23-year-old pitcher suffers from Type 1 diabetes and is high-risk for COVID-19:

Jordan Hicks, Cardinals closer, has opted out, citing a health condition. He has Type 1 diabetes. He also had Tommy John surgery a year ago, as the team mentioned.
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) July 13, 2020

Hicks underwent Tommy John surgery in June 2019. In May, Cardinals president of baseball operations John Mozeliak told Rick Hummel of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch that the club was hopeful Hicks would be recovered enough to play during a shortened campaign. Hicks previously told The Athletic he was willing to play despite his condition.

Hicks appeared in 29 games last season before the operation. He tallied a 2-2 record with a 3.14 ERA.

Zac Wassink is a football and futbol aficionado who is a PFWA member and is probably yelling about Tottenham Hotspur at the moment. Erik Lamela and Eli Manning apologist. Chanted for Matt Harvey to start the ninth inning of Game 5 of the 2015 World Series at Citi Field. Whoops. You can find him on Twitter at @ZacWassink.

More must-reads: