KANSAS CITY JULY 14 (US): The Kansas City Royals will be without 10 of the 26 players on their active roster for their upcoming trip to Toronto due to Canadian restrictions on travelers who have not been vaccinated against COVID-19.
Manager Mike Matheny said on Wednesday the club would be without hitters Andrew Benintende, Hunter Dozier, Cam Gallagher, Kyle Ispel, MJ Melendez, Wyatt Merifield and Michael A.
The team is scheduled to play four games in Toronto. The ten players will be placed on the restricted list and will forfeit four days of salary and Major League service time in accordance with the terms of the MLB’s collective bargaining agreement.
“It’s an individual choice,” Matini said. “The organization has done a really good job of bringing in professionals and experts to talk to the guys through difficult conversations and then put it into their hands to make the decisions that they think are best for them and their families.”
Benintende would lose $186,813, Merrifield $153,846, Keeler $106,044, and Dozier and Taylor $98,901 each. Among others, the lost pay for Gallagher will be $19,451, Singer $15,962, Isbel $15,426, Coleman $15,399, and Melendez $15,385.
The club will name their replacements on Thursday, along with an announcement about other employees who will not travel with the club.
“Now what it presents is an opportunity for some young people to step in who are not usually here,” Matheny said. “It will affect what we do in terms of rotations and that will be another question that we will have to answer later on. I am excited to have some players come in and have a chance.”
Players cited personal decisions of themselves and their families behind their reasons not to vaccinate.
“It was a choice to talk to my family, to talk to my wife,” Merfield said. “I honestly didn’t think the risk was worth it.
“I don’t feel that COVID is a threat to me,” he added.
The unvaccinated players said they felt that their teammates supported their decisions.
“We’ve talked to these guys, they don’t judge us at all,” Dozier said. “They have our backs. I don’t think we’ve ever dealt with something like that, being forced to take a vaccine just to play in Toronto. It’s just a weird situation. It’s a pity.”
“(Staff, owner, GM, everyone, it was really nice to see how they handle it,” Coleman said.
Murrayfield had the team’s longest active game at 553 before a foot injury prevented him from playing on Sunday. He said he might change his mind if similar circumstances emerge later in the year.
“That may change in the future,” he said. “If something happens and I happen to a team that has a chance to play in Canada in the post-season, that might change. As we sit here now, I am comfortable with my decision.”
New Blue Jays manager John Schneider said his team won’t take Kansas City lightly.
“A bit surprising, but the rules are the rules. We live by their side and the rest of the league lives by their hands,” Sneijder said in Toronto. “Definitely not a series that you would easily take on the break. You kind of see who they have, you plan to play accordingly, and hopefully build this two-game streak (sweep) against the Phillies.”
Sneijder was promoted from bench coach to interim manager for the rest of the season when Toronto sacked Charlie Montoyo on Wednesday.