Currently, to cross the border, the Prime Minister of Canada Justin Trudeau requires that people be vaccinated. This will be the case at least until September 30.
But according to what the Toronto Star has learned, the restrictions could eventually fall as Justin Trudeau considers changing the rules to keep things as they were.
And if it’s lifted, it could be a game-changer for the playoffs in MLB.
After all, barring a bad end to the season, the Blue Jays should be in the playoffs and playing in Toronto, the only Canadian city in MLB.
If all Blue Jays players are vaccinated, this is not the case for all players from other teams. Throughout the year, important players were forced to stay in the United States while their club was in Toronto.
If the restrictions are not lifted, it could cause some problems in the playoffs, clearly.
Since the Jays are in the American League, it seems that the good teams in that league were more often collectively vaccinated. But in the National, we saw some guys who were not often called to come to Toronto who were not vaccinated.
It was especially glaring when Paul Goldschmidt and Nolan Arenado didn’t accompany the Cardinals to Toronto this summer.
If the restrictions are not lifted, players will have two weeks to receive the vaccine in time to travel. The clubs of the National will have, if the Jays are alive, to act two weeks before the World Series, that is to say during the divisional playoffs.
But the problem is mostly in the American League.
By the end of the regular season, only the Orioles (100% vaccinated and currently in town), the Yankees (only Andrew Benintendi, who is injured, is not definitely vaccinated) and the Red Sox (who are out playoff race) will come to Toronto. But either way, the trip is either underway or planned for the next two weeks. It is therefore too late to move on this level.
But for the series, it can change the game.
The playoffs are going to start on October 7 and there’s a world where that game is in Toronto for the Blue Jays. This means that next Friday (September 23), if Justin Trudeau has not announced a change in regulations, some players of the American will have to make decisions about their vaccination status.
The name Robbie Ray (Seattle Mariners) comes to mind. The pitcher, who won the Cy Young in 2021 in Toronto, took advantage of the exemption offered to MLB in 2021, but this year, instead of getting vaccinated, he signed with an American club. He didn’t accompany Seattle to Toronto earlier this year, which wasn’t the end of the world.
But in the playoffs, it’s a different story.
It is therefore a situation to watch closely. For my part, I still think it would be easier for guys to get vaccinated (for the collective good and for their career), but hey.
