Kansas City Royals utility man Whit Merrifield has landed himself in some hot water recently. Kansas City traveled to Toronto, Ontario, Canada to face the Blue Jays on Thursday for a four-game series. Merrifield did not travel with the team.

He wasn't the only one. He was one of 10 Royals players who didn't make the trip because of their vaccination status. Teammate Andrew Benintendi has seen a decrease in trade interest because of his vaccination status.

The thing that stirred backlash for Merrifield was his explanation for why he hasn't received the vaccine.

“This is my opinion on it all. It’s what, based on the experiences I’ve had, the conversations I’ve had, and what I’ve seen, this is the conclusion I’ve come to,” he said.

“Right or wrong, I didn’t do it on a whim. I’s been a long thought process because again, I understand what Canada has in place right now. That’s the only reason that I would think about getting it at this point, is to go to Canada.”

Royals president Dayton Moore was far from happy with the comments from his player. He shared his thoughts on it all on Thursday.

“It’s very difficult at times to articulate feelings and emotions. Sometimes, it just comes out wrong. When I first heard that, I was very disappointed. Pretty disgusted, truthfully,” Moore said.

Moore shared that the 33-year-old Merrifield has expressed remorse over his comments. The Royals utility man clarified a bit on his stance but remained steady on getting the vaccine right now.

“I’ve been with this organization for 12 years. The front office has been the same my entire career, they’re like family to me,” Merrifield said on local radio. “The community is greatly important to me, and for my words to reflect anything besides that is something that is not okay, and I really felt like I needed to clarify it.”

Merrifield mentioned he is open to getting the vaccine in the future. When asked, he mentioned the opportunity to play in the postseason as something that could sway him.