A few days ago, the New York Yankees were hot on Kansas City Royals star Andrew Benintendi's heels. Desperate for more star hitters, they seemed to be inching closer and closer to trading for the star. However, their pursuit of the star has hit a rather unexpected speedbump over the last few days.
The Royals' trip to Toronto to face the Blue Jays revealed that 10 players from their roster were unvaccinated, and were therefore unable to play. Among those players were notable stars like Whit Merrifield and… Andrew Benintendi. That revelation seems to have soured the Yankees' appetite for the star. (via Jon Heyman)
Yankees are unlikely to continue pursuit of Andrew Benintendi since he is unvaccinated. NYY has 6 games left in Toronto and could meet Jays in playoffs. Yanks are the one team to send their complete roster to play in Toronto.
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) July 14, 2022
A quick note: Heyman incorrectly stated that the Yankees play six more games in Toronto. That is not the case: New York plays the Blue Jays six more times, with three of those games to be played in Rogers Centre in Toronto.
That aside, the Yankees have made sure that all of their players are vaccinated ahead of a potential matchup in Toronto. Aaron Judge was among the notable players to not get the jab against COVID-19. However, ahead of their last trip outside the country, Judge and other unvaccinated players finally got the vaccine.
The Yankees are trying to avoid a situation where a key player in their rotation misses time due to a ridiculous reason. There's already precedent for a player not being allowed to play in a series in Toronto. The Philadelphia 76ers did not field Matisse Thybulle during their first-round series against the Raptors in 2022 due to his unvaccinated status.
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