David Price Talks Opting Out of 2020 Season, Watching Dodgers As a Fan, More

David Price gave up a prorated salary of $11.85 million and a chance to win his second World Series when he opted out of the MLB season this spring.

Instead, the Scottsdale, Arizona, resident has spent his days living like a spectator, following his Los Angeles Dodgers teammates as close as he can while checking out games across the league.

"I've never watched this much baseball in my life," Price told The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal recently. "And being out West, this is all different for me. I wake up, eat breakfast, 9:30 or 10 o'clock some days, there's already baseball being played. I get to watch baseball all day long."

Price said he feels more like a fan than a player this year but is doing his best to help out his club whenever possible.

The Dodgers acquired the veteran lefty from the Boston Red Sox in the Mookie Betts trade and were expecting him to slot into the middle of the starting rotation this year. The coronavirus pandemic changed that. Price opted out just days before summer training camp opened to ensure the health of his family and himself.

Los Angeles, meanwhile, has gone 32-12 without him and leads the National League West by 4.5 games with a best-in-baseball +101 run differential.

Though losses have been rare for the Dodgers—and Price has yet to officially throw a pitch for the club—the pitcher says he can't help but feel it when L.A. drops a game. He's taken it upon himself to watch as much as he can and pass along anything he sees to his teammates.

"I'm watching the games, first pitch to last," Price said. "If I see anything, I try to let our people with the Dodgers know. I have no problem doing it. I enjoy doing it. Even if they don't ask me to do it, I'm still going to do it. I guess for me it's kind of a way to feel a part of the team."

Price, who has spent plenty of time on the injured list with elbow issues over his career, compared it to how he'd watch games while rehabbing.

During his time off, he's giving his arm a break from throwing, doing what he can to stay in shape and preparing to make his Dodgers debut next year. All while continuing to cheer on his teammates from 380 miles away.

"My focus right now is to be 100 percent ready to go in 2021 for the Los Angeles Dodgers," Price said.