KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Signs in the Kansas City Royals clubhouse Wednesday reminded players to have their passports and vaccination cards with them for the trip to Toronto.
That message won’t apply to 10 of the players.
Royals manager Mike Matheny said after Wednesday’s game against Detroit that 10 players won’t make the trip for their four-game series against the Blue Jays.
The Royals didn’t specify why they won’t make the trip, but Canadian law requires people who enter the country to be vaccinated against COVID-19.
All-Star outfielder Andrew Benintendi, first baseman Hunter Dozier, second baseman Whit Merrifield, outfielder Michael A. Taylor and outfielder Kyle Isbel all will miss the trip.
Ditto for catchers MJ Melendez and Cam Gallagher, and pitchers Brad Keller, Brady Singer and Dylan Coleman.
All 10 will be placed on the restricted list, Royals manager Mike Matheny said, who added that “a few” staff members also won’t make the trip. Matheny said he couldn’t reveal those names.
While Merrifield and Taylor are injured and weren’t in the lineup again Wednesday, they had not been placed on the injured list. Merrifield said after Wednesday’s game that his injured toe had improved and he might have been able to play later in the Blue Jays series had he been vaccinated and allowed to enter Canada.
The Royals will fill those 10 spots on their roster (out of 26 total) with minor league players, some of whom are not on the 40-man roster.
“We’re really looking forward to providing an opportunity for some of our players that we want to continue to look at and that we think are a big part of our future anyway,” Royals president Dayton Moore said. “And so we’re looking at this as a really important opportunity for them and us.”
The Royals said players who were not part of the 40-man roster but added for the trip can be returned to the minor leagues and removed from the roster after the Blue Jays series without being exposed to outright waivers.
“We will announce that group (of replacements) most likely (Thursday),” manager Mike Matheny said. “Obviously, we’ll have to pregame and that’ll affect kind of what we’re doing rotationwise too, which may be another question that we’ll have to answer a little later.”
They’ll also have to figure out who will catch with Melendez and Gallagher out. They have two catchers in their top 30 prospect list from MLB.com, but both are playing at Class A.
Freddy Fermin has made 40 starts for Triple-A Omaha and could get the call. Sebastian Rivero, the catcher at Double-A Northwest Arkansas is another option as he is on the Royals’ 40-man roster.
The 10 players not traveling to Toronto will forfeit their pay and service time during the Royals’ four days in Canada.
“We can’t really talk about the vaccination status of players,” Moore said, “but our guys have done an incredible job for really the last year and a half. Our medical team, coaching staff, our front office personnel, of doing our best to educate everybody in our organization and provide them with the necessary guidance, giving them the proper amount of space and grace along the way to make very informed decisions.
“But at the end of the day, it’s their choice. It’s what they decide to do. And we’ve always been an organization that kind of promotes and encourages their individual choices. Unfortunately, some of this affects the team. We’re disappointed in some of that, but we realize it’s part of the game. It’s part of the world we live in, and we’re just really looking forward to providing these players that opportunity that are getting this chance to play in Toronto.”
The Royals are not alone in having players miss a series against the Blue Jays. Four Phillies players didn’t make the trip to Toronto earlier this week. Other teams to have players sit out the trip to Canada include the A’s, Twins and Reds (four players). The White Sox, Red Sox, Rays and Orioles had two players out.
The Mariners only had one player out, while the Rangers, Yankees and Astros had no players on the restricted list for a series in Canada.
“It’s an individual choice,” Matheny said of the players. “The organization has done a real good job of bringing in professionals and experts to just talk eyes through tough conversations and then put it in their hands to make their decision that they believe is best for them and their family.”
