Rangers Spring Training Officially Underway, Sour News For Unvaccinated Players

After a 99-day lockout, spring training camps throughout Major League Baseball are officially open.

Baseball is back!

Though it's coming nearly a month late, baseball fans should be elated to know that Major League spring training camps are now officially open.

With MLB owners ratifying the new collective bargaining agreement with the MLB Players Association by a unanimous vote Thursday evening, players on the Rangers 40-man roster were given the green light to report to camp in Surprise, Ariz. as early as Friday. The mandatory report date for domestic players is March 13. Foreign players will be given some leeway to have their visas renewed.

Workouts in Surprise will be open to the public beginning at 9:30 a.m. MST each day. The revised spring training schedule was released by MLB Friday, and the Rangers will open Cactus League play against the Kansas City Royals at Surprise Stadium on March 18.

Here is the Rangers full spring training schedule:

Courtesy of the Texas Rangers

For fans already in Arizona on Friday, the Rangers and Royals—who share the complex in Surprise—will play a minor league game at 1:00 p.m. MT. According to Rangers PR, the game is open to fans free of charge by entering through the stadium's right field gate. Cody Bradford will start for the Rangers, and 2021 first-round pick Jack Leiter is scheduled to pitch as well.

Kelly Gavin / Courtesy of the Texas Rangers

Unvaccinated Players Unable To Play in Canada

According to Duke Castiglione of Boston's WCVB, unvaccinated players are not currently permitted to play in Canada. In addition, under the new CBA, those players will not be paid or receive service time for those games missed.

The Rangers are set to open the regular season with a three-game series against the Blue Jays in Toronto, beginning April 8.

---

Make sure to like 'Inside The Rangers' on Facebook