Red Sox forced to call up 2 new players due to Canada’s COVID-19 regulations

The Boston Red Sox will be short a few players thanks to Canada’s COVID-19 regulations, as several of their regulars aren’t vaccinated.

While the likes of Chris Sale and Tanner Houck are allowed to play in most MLB ballparks despite being unvaccinated against COVID-19, Canada will not allow them to cross the border.

Houck revealed his ‘personal decision’ just last week, and the Red Sox will skip his start and replace the rising young pitcher on the roster for their series against the Blue Jays. You can add Kutter Crawford to that list, as well.

Crawford’s reasoning is not known at this time, so we will not speak for him. As for Houck, he commented on the matter a week ago:

“I’m definitely bummed that I won’t be able to make that start,” Houck said, per the Boston Globe. “But the starts that I am able to make, I plan on giving 100 percent for this team, if not more, so. Anything I can do for this team to help them win, I’ll do it.”

I’ll say it then and I’ll say it now: Anything besides getting vaccinated against COVID-19, evidently. But that’s his own decision, which Houck appears dead set on.

Red Sox replace Tanner Houck, Kutter Crawford on roster

Boston needed to replace the two right-handed pitchers on the roster, so they called up Tyler Danish and John Schreiber as reinforcements.

While this is just an early-season series, the Blue Jays are among the top teams in the AL East, if not the best. Toronto game in at No. 2 in this week’s FanSided MLB Power Rankings, and for good reason.

The Red Sox have series in Toronto in late June and late September/early October. Should the ban on unvaccinated entires not be lifted by that time period — and god forbid the postseason — then said personal decision could have severe consequences on the Sox team as a whole.