Cardinals lineup will be without 2 All-Stars for trip to Toronto
The St. Louis Cardinals are about to start a series in Toronto but All-Stars Nolan Arenado and Paul Goldschmidt won’t be with them as they’re unvaccinated.
It’s going to be a crucial end of July and early August for the St. Louis Cardinals as the club tries to make headway in a tight NL Central race. But two of their All-Stars are going to put them behind the 8-ball in the last week of July as they head to Toronto for a set against the Blue Jays.
According to Cards insider Derrick Goold, first baseman Paul Goldschmidt and third baseman Nolan Arenado won’t be making the trip to Toronto as they are unvaccinated and Canada’s restrictions for unvaccinated players crossing the border still stands.
In addition, catcher Austin Romine is also unvaccinated and won’t make the trip north of the border while Johan Oviedo won’t travel to face the Blue Jays because his passport is expired.
All-Star infielders Nolan Arenado and Paul Goldschmidt and catcher Austin Romine will not make the trip to Toronto with the team due to Canada’s vaccination rules, Mozeliak tells local media on Zoom.
— Derrick Goold (@dgoold) July 24, 2022
Johan Oviedo has an expired passport and will not be able to travel.
Cardinals: Nolan Arenado, Paul Goldschmidt unvaccinated, out for Toronto series
This is just about the last thing that the Cardinals need in their current situation.
Not only is St. Louis now 1.5 games back in the division, but they now head on the road to face a Blue Jays team that has been surging as of late. And they’ll have to do so without their most potent bats in the lineup with Goldschmidt and Arenado out of the equation.
Granted, this is just for one series, but it’s a time when the Cards cannot afford to lose any ground and they are now very much in danger of doing so.
If there’s an optimistic Cardinals fan out there, they’ll certainly point to the fact that Kansas City was without 10 players, most of them key in the lineup, when they traveled to Toronto and still came up with a couple of wins and St. Louis has far more secondary firepower. But that discounts that the Blue Jays have looked much better recently than they did at that point during a skid.
Regardless, this is a vital series that St. Louis will be short-handed for, which could be a tough scene for the Redbirds.
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