TORONTO — The absence of one player can make quite a difference. The Phillies know this. They’ve lost Bryce Harper, they’ve lost Jean Segura. On Tuesday night, the player they lost was Bailey Falter.
Falter, who had been pitching out of the rotation in place of an injured Zach Eflin, was optioned to triple-A Lehigh Valley on July 7. When asked why Falter was sent down, president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski wouldn’t give a specific reason, but Falter was unvaccinated last year when he tested positive for COVID-19.
We don’t know for certain if Falter is unvaccinated. He hasn’t spoken to that. But if he is, Falter, who was in line to pitch Tuesday night against the Blue Jays, wouldn’t have been able to enter Canada, where vaccination is a requirement for visitors. Because he was in Lehigh Valley, the Phillies were forced to clobber together a bullpen game that ended in a 4-3 loss.
