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Royals to miss 10 unvaccinated players for Blue Jays road series

The Kansas City Royals are headed to Toronto to face the Blue Jays this weekend, though calling the team they'll be fielding the Royals may be a bit charitable.

A whopping 10 players on the Royals' roster are not vaccinated against COVID-19 and will not be able to enter Canada for the Blue Jays series, according to ESPN's Jeff Passan. Those players reportedly are:

  • OF Andrew Benintendi

  • IF/OF Whit Merrifield

  • C M.J. Melendez

  • DH Hunter Dozier

  • SP Brad Keller

  • SP Brady Singer

  • CF Michael A. Taylor

  • OF Kyle Isbel

  • RP Dylan Coleman

  • C Cam Gallagher

As Passan notes, a total of 25 MLB players had not been allowed into Canada because they are unvaccinated. It should be mentioned that the U.S. has a similar policy, hence all non-U.S. citizens on the Blue Jays must be vaccinated to play any road series.

That Royals group represents several of the team's top players, including Benintendi, a top trade candidate for the rebuilding franchise.

Who are the Royals losing against the Blue Jays?

To understand what the team is losing, take a look at its starting lineup from July 10, the last game Merrifield started before he began dealing with a toe injury:

  1. Whit Merrifield, 2B

  2. Andrew Benintendi, LF

  3. Bobby Witt Jr., SS

  4. MJ Melendez, DH

  5. Hunter Dozier, RF

  6. Vinnie Pasquantino, 1B

  7. Kyle Isbel, CF

  8. Cam Gallagher, C

  9. Nicky Lopez, 3B

Between Taylor, Isbel and Merrifield, the Royals are losing every player who has started more than two games for them at center field this season. Between Melendez and Gallagher, they are losing both of the catchers left on their active roster, a position where they were already missing Salvador Perez, currently on the 10-day injured list after undergoing thumb surgery.

On the pitching side, the Royals are losing their top two starters by ERA who have made multiple starts with Keller and Singer. They are also losing Coleman, who is tied for the team lead in appearances with 37 and holds a 3.22 ERA.

They at least still have Witt, one of the most exciting rookies in baseball this year, but don't flip on the game expecting to see anything more than him and the best of their Triple-A roster.

This article originally appeared on Yahoo Sports at https://sports.yahoo.com/royals-to-miss-10-unvaccinated-players-for-blue-jays-road-series-215054234.html