Royals Trade Anti-Vax Second Baseman to Toronto, Where He’ll Need to Be Vaccinated to Play

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The Kansas City Royals traded second baseman Whit Merrifield to the Toronto Blue Jays on Tuesday, but if he’s to play at all in Canada, he’ll need to get vaccinated against Covid-19 first.

The two-time all-star was one of 10 unvaccinated Royals who did not make the team’s trip north of the border last month. At the time, Merrifield explained his decision to forgo the vaccine.

“What I’ve seen and experienced, people that are vaccinated have got [Covid-19] in this clubhouse,” he stated. “People that are vaccinated have spread it in this clubhouse, to their families and whatnot. People have gotten pretty sick that are vaccinated. This is my opinion on it all.”

But Merrifield left open the possibility of getting vaccinated in the event he suddenly found himself on a team in postseason contention.

“That might change down the road,” he continued. “Something happens and I happen to get on a team that has a chance to go play in Canada in the postseason, maybe that changes. But as we sit here right now, I’m comfortable in my decision, my teammates support me, support the rest of the guys in here who have made that decision, and that’s that.”

The Blue Jays currently hold the top Wild Card spot in the American League. Meanwhile, the Royals are well out of contention.

“We’ll let him work through that with his family,” Blue Jays general manager Ross Atkins said after the trade. “We felt like we made a very good team better today.”

After reporting the trade, ESPN’s Jeff Passan tweeted of Merrifield, “One has to believe he’ll be getting vaccinated.”