Unvaccinated MLB players won’t be paid for missed games in Canada
Posted March 11, 2022 3:15 pm.
Last Updated March 11, 2022 3:26 pm.
With the Major League Baseball season set to start, unvaccinated players will once again need to sit out series against the Toronto Blue Jays at Rogers Centre.
Players who haven’t been fully vaccinated against COVID-19 will not be able to play in Toronto.
In addition, unvaccinated players won’t be paid for games or service time for the entirety of a series played north of the border. Each day spent on a baseball club’s active roster or injured list represents one day of service time.
With Canadian border still closed to unvaccinated visitors, MLB players who haven't taken COVID-19 shots will be placed on restricted list when their teams are in Toronto, source tells me and @bnicholsonsmith. That means no pay and no service time for duration of series.
— Shi Davidi (@ShiDavidi) March 11, 2022
Current vaccination guidelines still don’t allow foreign unvaccinated travellers to cross the Canadian border. Athletes no longer have a special status in order to travel without having taken the vaccine after the federal government revoked the exemption on Jan. 15.
Sportsnet’s Shi Davidi reports the subject was “a significant point” in players’ CBA discussions with “a few teams” taking issue before ultimately relenting.
Sportsnet’s Ben Nicholson-Smith reports the Jays and the other AL East teams are most affected by the news from a player personnel standpoint. With the season finally getting the green light on Thursday, free agency has opened, leaving teams scrambling to negotiate with baseball’s top free agents.
Davidi added that 88 per cent of tier-one individuals in MLB were fully vaccinated by the end of the 2021 playoffs.
