4 Phillies players land on the restricted list ahead of two-game series in Toronto
The Phillies will wrap up a four game series tonight against the St. Louis Cardinals, and then head to Toronto for a quick 2-game series against the Blue Jays.
Last week, it was reported that the Phillies were preparing to tweak the roster due to Canada’s ridiculous vaccination rules, stating that anyone entering the country must be vaccinated. Today, we learned that the Phillies will be placing four players on the restricted list before heading to Toronto.
Phillies Restricted List
JT Realmuto, Alec Bohm, Aaron Nola, and Kyle Gibson have all been placed on the restricted list and will not be able to travel with the rest of the team as they head north of the border to face the Blue Jays.
Rafael Marchan will join the Phillies in Toronto, replacing Realmuto. Aaron Nola, who pitches tonight, won’t be replaced. Gibson will be replaced, but no word yet on what prospect will take his spot.
The Phillies have yet to announce starting pitchers for Tuesday and Wednesday in Toronto. Bailey Falter was going to start tomorrow, but he was optioned back to Triple A Lehigh Valley over the weekend. I think we can all make an assumption on why that would be the case.
Now would be a good time queue the hate on social media. Any time the “hot topic” of vaccinations pops up, athletes get absolutely destroyed online. Just look what happened to Matisse Thybulle when he couldn’t play on the road in the Raptors-76ers series. He went from a fan favorite to the most hated person on the Sixers roster.
To be clear, I find it absolutely ridiculous that anyone receives criticism over their “vaccination status” which really, isn’t even a term to begin with. Any medical decisions someone wants to make with their body should be done so in private. It’s entirely up to them whether they want or don’t want to take certain vaccinations.
Kyle Schwarber on his teammates:
If you are surprised that Realmuto from Oklahoma, Nola from Louisiana, Bohm from Nebraska, and Gibson from Indiana aren’t vaccinated then I literally can’t help you, and if you’re worried about what a professional athlete chooses to do with their own body then you are either a loser, or an idiot. It’s literally none of your business. Go find a hobby.
On top of that, no one wants to point the finger at Canada, which is absolutely ridiculous. I really don’t think any team should even be playing in Canada with these types of rules in place. To point fingers at players rather than the country itself doesn’t sit right with me.
Regardless, the Phillies will have to get creative with their roster over the next few days. Until then, we have Nola on the mound against the Cardinals tonight, looking for another series win.
