Report: Red Sox Will Be Without 'Multiple Players' At Blue Jays

Red Sox manager Alex Cora confirmed Boston will be without multiple players in Toronto later this month.

Gregory Fisher-USA TODAY Sports

The Red Sox will be without multiple players when the team travels to Toronto later this month, the Associated Press reports.

Starting pitcher Tanner Houck told the Boston Globe he would be unable to pitch in Toronto as an unvaccinated individual and Boston manager Alex Cora confirmed other players are expected to miss the series, too.

The Red Sox and Blue Jays match up for the first time on Tuesday, in Boston, and then the AL East rivals meet in Canada for the first time beginning on April 25.

The Canadian federal government announced in November 2021 that unvaccinated amateur and professional athletes would no longer be able to enter the country under a travel exemption, beginning in January. Players unable to make the trip to Toronto can be placed on MLB's restricted list, where they will be unpaid and unable to collect service time. Before a three-game set at Rogers Centre this weekend, the Oakland Athletics placed three players on the restricted list.

Blue Jays' players remain unimpacted by American and Canadian travel restrictions as the entire major league team is fully vaccinated, as of Opening Day. Restrictions impacted Toronto's trades and free agent signings during the offseason, CEO Mark Shapiro said in spring training, as the club prepared to navigate traveling across the border regularly.

“I almost jumped through my phone screen when I see a reporter write that it's a competitive advantage of the Toronto Blue Jays because [teams] can't bring players across the border,” Shapiro said. "You got to be freaking kidding me."

In spring, Yankees manager Aaron Boone voiced concern about the impact of vaccination requirements to cross the border on New York.

"We'll be monitoring that situation closely and see how that plays out. But yeah, it's a concern," Boone told the Associated Press.

H/T AP, Boston Globe