The St. Louis Cardinals are entering a critical juncture in their campaign. They currently trail the NL Central leaders Milwaukee Brewers by just 2.5 games. If the team wants a guaranteed slot in the playoffs, they will need to overtake their division rivals and avoid the mess that is the Wild Card race.

Unfortunately, their race to the top hit a pretty nasty speedbump on Sunday. The Cardinals announced that stars Nolan Arenado and Paul Goldschmidt aren't able to play in their upcoming two-game series against the Toronto Blue Jays. The reason? Both players are still unvaccinated against COVID-19. Missing both of their star hitters against a white-hot team like the Jays is a recipe for disaster.

Their impending absence caused a stir in the Cardinals fanbase, and rightfully so. By this point, most players know the current rules of playing in Toronto. Why did Arenado and Goldschmidt not get the vaccine? Here's how fans reacted to this bombshell news.

https://twitter.com/tjadenski/status/1551256544783831040

However, there are also those that defended the Cardinals stars' decision to not get the vaccine. Most of these guys argue that it's their body, and therefore they should have full control of what they put in them.

Unfortunately for the Cardinals, what's done is done. Unless there's a miraculous vaccine developed within the next 24 hours that takes effect immediately, Arenado and Goldschmidt won't be able to play in Toronto. Hopefully, the team can take the full force of a Toronto team fresh off one of the most dominant games in MLB history.