Since Joe Girardi got fired, everything’s gone right for interim manager Rob Thomson. Two starters and an MVP got hurt, but the team kept on winning. Now the Phillies have a COVID vaccination crisis looming in the Great White North, but it looks like they’ll be cool.
They traveled from St. Louis to Toronto on Monday night for two interleague games without four frontline players who won’t be allowed to enter Canada because they chose to not get vaccinated for COVID-19: former All-Star catcher J.T. Realmuto, third baseman Alec Bohm, and former All-Star starters Aaron Nola and Kyle Gibson. Swing starter/reliever Bailey Falter, despite being reasonably effective, was optioned to triple A on Thursday, and president Dave Dombrowski said there was a reason, but he would not elaborate. Falter was due to start Tuesday, but the Phillies will cobble together a bullpen start. Falter was unvaccinated when he tested positive for COVID last year.
Asked if he had injured players who would have potentially been absent, Dombrowski said, “Individually, I would not get into it.” Reigning MVP Bryce Harper leads a list of injured Phillies whose vaccinated status is unknown.
