A group of Kansas City Royals players, including four of their top hitters and two of their best pitchers, will not travel to Toronto this week for a four-game series because they haven't received the vaccine.
The vaccine requirement for border-crossing travel into Canada will affect a number of players.
The four games missed by unvaccinated players are forfeited and they are placed on the restricted list. The most players missed by a team in Toronto prior to Kansas City were four, and 25 of them were unvaccinated.
There is only one All-Star in the group at that time. The Royals have explored trading the outfielder who is due to hit free agency this winter.
Merrifield's iron man streak came to an end because of a toe injury, but he was not in the starting lineup. The Royals have used Dozier as their top hitter. Edward Olivares is the only outfielder on the roster.
In order to fill out the big league roster, Kansas City will call in reinforcements from its two minor league affiliates. The Royals will play at Toronto.
All Rights Reserved © 2024
