Royals Rule 10 Players Ineligible for Series in Toronto

Kansas City will be missing some regular contributors and saying hello to new faces north of the border.

The Kansas City Royals are heading north of the border for their series against the Toronto Blue Jays, but they'll be doing so without a surprising number of regular contributors. Following the club defeating the Detroit Tigers to clinch a series win on Wednesday, it's being revealed that a whopping 10 Royals won't be making that trip nor playing for the team heading into this year's All-Star break. 

Canada's government requires someone to have either a second COVID-19 vaccine dose or one dose of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine at least two weeks prior to entering the country. If an MLB player doesn't meet those qualifications and his team is set to face the Blue Jays in Toronto, the team then places that player on the restricted list and rules them ineligible for that series. Here's Kansas City's full list:

• Whit Merrifield
• Hunter Dozier
• MJ Melendez
• Andrew Benintendi
• Cam Gallagher
• Brady Singer
• Dylan Coleman
• Kyle Isbel
• Brad Keller
• Michael A. Taylor

This list of 10 has Kansas City operating without some of its best players for the upcoming series. Replacements are expected to be announced on Thursday morning, per manager Mike Matheny, and many will be coming from the minor leagues. The likes of Nate Eaton, Nick Pratto, Brewer Hicklen, Clay Dungan, Michael Massey and others were likely candidates heading into this, as many were out of lineups in advance of the news breaking. Here's more on the situation and how it affects the Royals and their roster in the short-term from Jeff Passan of ESPN:

Up until today, 25 total visiting players had not been allowed into Canada because they were unvaccinated. Kansas City by itself has 10 -- including four of its five top hitters and its two best starters. They'll be replaced by a rash of AAA and AA players who will be in Toronto.

In regards to veteran players, this news complicates multiple current situations. Merrifield recently saw his consecutive games played streak snapped due to a toe injury and is now unable to play for another reason as well. Benintendi and Taylor, both prime trade pieces who were recently linked to the New York Yankees (an American League East team), could now see their trade markets be diminished. 

The same applies for Dozier and Keller, who weren't linked to any specific teams but were dubbed by many as potential trade pieces at or near the deadline. Not only are the Royals missing out on availability for themselves now, but they're missing out on at least some amount of value at the negotiating table. Non-vaccinated players not being able to play in Toronto — a team still right in the thick of things in the American League — can pose a potential issue down the road if on another team. 

Prior to Wednesday, the Philadelphia Phillies made headlines for placing four players on the restricted list heading into a series in Toronto. The Royals put that number to shame, setting a new record that almost surely won't be surpassed for the rest of the season. While Kansas City is firmly out of the playoff race, this lack of talent against Toronto could lead to an underwhelming series. The club will hope that its promotions can weather the storm until regulars return late next week. 

This story is being updated.