Report: Unvaccinated MLB Players Won’t Be Paid, Unable to Play in Games in Toronto

MLB players unvaccinated against COVID-19 will reportedly not be compensated or allowed to play in games in Toronto due to the league’s new collective bargaining agreement, according to Duke Castiglione of WCVB-TV in Boston.  

The league’s new CBA requires players to be vaccinated when playing in Canada. Players who are not vaccinated will be placed on a restricted list that prevents them from being paid or acquiring service time for the games they missed. 

This news comes nearly a day after MLB's 99-day lockout ended, which pushed the league's Opening Day from March 31 to April 7. 

Near the conclusion of the 2021 postseason in November, roughly 88 percent of MLB's tier 1 individuals—which includes players, coaches, trainers—had been vaccinated. However, according to Sportsnet baseball columnist Shi Davidi, it is unclear whether the league will update its policies to reexamine the phrase “fully vaccinated” to mean having three shots, including a booster. 

In September, prior to the postseason, seven teams sat below the 85% vaccination rate threshold, according to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic. In January, the league made the decision to move away from requiring all minor-league players to be vaccinated. Teams who met and exceeded the 85% mark were allowed to loosen their restrictions on wearing masks and other activities. 

For now, it remains unclear whether more players from those seven teams have been vaccinated to get them above the threshold.