JT Realmuto, Aaron Nola and more make personal choice to not help Phillies in Toronto

A total of four Phillies players will not be making the trip to Toronto to play against the Blue Jays.

Thanks to a move made back in March of this year, Major League Baseball players who aren’t vaccinated against the coronavirus will not be able to play in Toronto.

Canada’s government requires people to be vaccinated against the virus at least 14 days before entering the country, and many baseball players have made the decision to not get the COVID-19 vaccine.

The Boston Red Sox were the latest team entering today to be picked apart by social media over vaccinations. Pitchers Tanner Houck and Chris Sale as well as outfielder Jarren Duran were the center of attention last week, but not in a good way.

Looking at it strictly from a baseball perspective, the players that will not be joining the Philadelphia Phillies are going to be tough losses in the upcoming two-game series in Toronto against the hometown Blue Jays.

Staff ace Aaron Nola, star catcher JT Realmuto, veteran innings eater Kyle Gibson and corner infielder Alec Bohm will not be traveling with the Phillies to play against Toronto. All four of the players have been placed on the Phillies’ restricted list.

Phillies: 4 big names will not be traveling with team to Toronto

It has already been announced that catcher Rafael Marchan will be joining the big league club to replace Realmuto behind the plate. Further moves have yet to be announced, per Matt Gelb of The Athletic. In addition, each of the foursome will be forfeiting their pay and service time for the two days the Phillies are in Canada.

The losses of Gibson and Nola will fortunately be easier pills to swallow for Philly, as Nola is making the start tonight against the Cardinals and Gibson started two days ago, so neither pitcher would’ve received a start in the upcoming series against the Jays anyway.

Realmuto and Bohm, however, may sting a bit more to lose. On the year so far, Realmuto has been worth 2.0 bWAR and has seven home runs, 35 RBI, 11 stolen bases and a 93 OPS+ in his first 75 games. His defense has continued to shine as he has already posted 1.0 dWAR in 70 games and 613.1 innings behind the plate.

Bohm, 25, is a former top-prospect that has had issues getting his feet under him at the big league level but he has been a decent offensive producer this season; hitting six home runs, driving in 33 RBI and posting a 95 OPS+ in his first 81 games of the year. He has been worth 1.0 oWAR per Baseball-Reference but his defensive performance has been subpar and has brought his overall WAR to 0.0 on the season.

The losses of these four players will be tough on the Phillies in the upcoming series in Toronto, but the fact that they have the support of their teammates certainly helps matters.