Jay Biggerstaff-USA TODAY Sports
Report: Whit Merrifield Says He's Vaccinated, Can Travel with Blue Jays to Toronto
Whit Merrifield will be playing home games for the Blue Jays this year.
Meeting with the Toronto media for the first time, Merrifield said he is vaccinated and will travel with the team to Toronto after the Blue Jays' current road trip, per MLB.com's Keegan Matheson.
Questions surrounding Merrifield's vaccination status lingered over Toronto's trade deadline acquisitions, but the former Royals veteran made it clear he is able to cross the border on Thursday in Minnesota.
Merrifield was one of 10 Royals regulars placed on the restricted list ahead of Kansas City's series in Toronto last month and confirmed to the media at the time he was unvaccinated. He did, however, say that if the vaccine was "what was standing between me and the playoffs" he would "consider getting it."
To currently cross the border between Canada and the United States without quarantining, in either direction, all individuals, including MLB players, must be fully vaccinated.
In order to qualify as fully vaccinated, one must receive two doses of a COVID-19 vaccine accepted for travel, a mix of 2 accepted vaccines, or at least 1 dose of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine. Individuals can cross the border 14 days after receiving the final dose to reach fully vaccinated status.
Merrifield will make his Blue Jays debut on the road on Thursday, hitting eighth and starting in center field against the Twins. It will be his first big league game not with the Royals, after seven seasons in Kansas City. The 33-year-old led baseball in hits twice and stolen bases three times across his years with the Royals, making two All-Star teams.
H/T Keegan Matheson
