Red Sox right-hander Collin McHugh has opted out of playing this season, Manager Ron Roenicke announced Sunday. McHugh, who underwent a Tenex procedure to treat a flexor strain in his elbow in December, was expected to begin the season on the injured list.

McHugh, who is in Boston for summer training camp, met with Roenicke and Red Sox Chief Baseball Officer Chaim Bloom to inform them of his decision this weekend.

“His arm is just not coming around like he had hoped. He knew he was probably going to spend some time on the IL. If he was going to do that, with what’s going on with the pandemic, he would feel better if he was at home with his family during that time. That’s the decision that he has made and we support it. We know it was a tough decision for him. He did tell me he felt bad but this is what he thought was best for he and his family.”

McHugh previously praised the Red Sox for how they were implementing health and safety protocols related to the COVID-19 pandemic. In May, the right-hander told MassLive’s The Fenway Rundown podcast that Major League Baseball would have to allow players to opt out of the season if they chose to do so.

“We’re in a situation right now where you can’t make this mandatory,” he said. “You can’t tell a guy you have to come play or else your roster spot is not going to be here when you come back. You can’t tell a guy to risk his life and the life of his family and the lives of anyone he chooses to be around to come play this game. There’s probably going to have to be some waivers signed and whatever else you need to have done to make guys feel comfortable coming back. Then, MLB and the teams are going to have to do everything in their power so that we go about this in the best way possible and don’t just start playing games, but really set an example of how to do this, how to do it well and how to do it safely.”

BLUE JAYS: The front office is working to find a major league ballpark for the team to use this year after Canada’s government barred Toronto from playing in its home stadium amid the coronavirus pandemic, pitcher Anthony Bass said Sunday.

Canada denied the Blue Jays’ request to play at Rogers Centre because the regular-season schedule would require frequent travel back and forth from the United States, where COVID-19 cases are surging. The other 29 major league teams plan to play the pandemic-shortened, 60-game season in their home ballparks, without spectators.

Toronto begins the season at Tampa Bay on Friday and is scheduled to play its first home game on July 29 against the defending champion Washington Nationals.

Bass said he spoke with General Manager Ross Atkins and emphasized that players prefer a big league stadium.

“I just said, ‘Look, we want to play in a major league ballpark. We feel that’s the best opportunity for us,’ and he agreed and said, ‘I listened to you guys loud and clear and that’s what we’re going to do for you because that’s what the team wants,’” Bass said.

The veteran right-handed reliever, who’s in his first season with the Blue Jays, added that players are willing to share a home venue with another team and make other sacrifices.

NATIONALS: Center fielder Victor Robles had his first official workout since camp opened after being quarantined for two weeks because he came into contact with someone who tested positive for COVID-19.

OBIT: Rick Reed, whose career as a big league umpire spanned three decades and included the classic 1991 World Series and two All-Star Games, has died. He was 70.

Reed, who kept working in the majors despite two strokes, died Thursday night. Born in Detroit, he was the plate umpire when the Tigers opened Comerica Park in 2000.

Reed first worked a handful of American League games in 1979 before eventually becoming a full-time ump in the big leagues four years later. He called the seven-game Series between Minnesota and Atlanta and also received All-Star assignments in 1986 and 1998.

FREE AGENTS: Philadelphia second baseman Neil Walker, Texas pitcher Edinson Vólquez and Pittsburgh pitcher Derek Holland have made opening-day rosters.

So have Milwaukee first baseman Logan Morrison, Cincinnati pitcher Nate Jones, Tampa Bay pitcher Aaron Loup and New York Yankees pitcher Luis Avilán.

The seven were among the former free agents clubs had to make decisions on by Sunday, five days ahead of opening day.

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