Royals Will Be 10 Players Short In Toronto And Fans Are Not Happy

Today the Kansas City Royals begin a 4 game series against the Toronto Blue Jays. If you are a Royals fan, you might not be happy, because your team will not be at full strength. And the fault lies with the players.

COVID-19 is still an issue in the world, and Canada has had far less cases than the US. They have a policy in place, that prevents anyone from entering the country who is not vaccinated. The Royals have 10 players who are unvaccinated and will not be making the trip. Manager Mike Matheny said that Andrew Benintendi, Dylan Coleman, Hunter Dozier, Cam Gallagher, Kyle Isbel, Brad Keller, MJ Melendez, Whit Merrifield, Brady Singer, and Michael A. Taylor will not play in the upcoming series because they are unvaccinated.

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The 10 players will be placed on the restricted list and forfeit four days of pay and major league service time in accordance with the terms of MLB’s collective bargaining agreement. You can read more about this HERE.

For many fans, this is frustrating, because when you support a team, you want to see your favorite players. Or certainly the best players that your team can put on the field. Their only All Star player Andrew Benintendi, will not be playing. The tweet below sums up what many fans and sports writers are thinking:

The team is in last place in the division, but it wasn't that long ago that this team went to back to back World Series. I wonder how they would be reacting if they were competitive and had something to play for? Now, if you are a Toronto Blue Jays fan, you must be thrilled. Despite the team firing their manager, if the playoffs started today, they would be in. And to face a team, as undermanned as this one right now, you have a very good chance to sweep the 4 games series. So much for competitive balance.

I realize for many, this is a issue of personal freedom, and probably a political choice. For others, it means that these 10 players are being bad teammates and putting their own interests over those of the team. Which side do you come down on? For the record, many of the Royals teammates aren't happy with the unvaccinated players too. You can read that story HERE.