Red Sox star could miss games in Toronto due to vaccination status

Boston Red Sox players could miss road games against the Toronto Blue Jays due to their vaccination status.

The MLB lockout is officially over, and for Boston Red Sox fans, that means they can watch the team make a push for their first World Series appearance since 2018. One team in the division that stands in their way from a roster perspective is the Toronto Blue Jays. But, the Red Sox may not have one of their stars available for the road games.

Chad Jennings of The Athletic wrote in his most recent article that Canada is reportedly not going to allow players not vaccinated against COVID-19 to cross the border.

For Boston, that means they would not have shortstop Xander Bogaerts, among others, available for road games against the Blue Jays.

"“Canada reportedly is not going to allow unvaccinated players to cross the border, meaning the Red Sox might have to play in Toronto without some key players this season,” writes Jennings. “The Red Sox were among the least-vaccinated teams in the majors last year, and Xander Bogaerts was among the important players who did not get the shot. The personal decision to get vaccinated now carries tangible weight for the team itself, especially for teams in the American League East which travel to Canada most often.”"

Red Sox could be without Xander Bogaerts, more for road games in Toronto

According to Shi Davidi and Ben Nicholson of Sportsnet, players on any team who are unvaccinated will be unable to travel to Toronto for games against the Blue Jays and will be placed on the restricted list, meaning that they will not receive pay and will not accrue service time.

The government of Canada lists that to be considered fully vaccinated to enter the country, an individual must receive at least two doses of a vaccine, a mix or two accepted vaccines, or one dose of the Johnson and Johnson vaccine.

As Jennings mentions in the quote above, the Red Sox were one of the least vaccinated teams in the league last season, as they did not reach the 85 percent vaccination threshold for Tier-1 personnel.

The Red Sox are scheduled to play the Blue Jays 10 times at Rogers Centre in Toronto.

Update: On Tuesday, March 15, Bogaerts revealed, via NESN’s Jahmai Webster, that he is vaccinated.