The Cardinals are in the thick of the NL Wild Card race, sitting just 2.5 games back of the first spot in the NL Central as of July 25. All cylinders are firing right now, however, their progress may suffer a little hiccup this week.
Third baseman Nolan Arenado and first baseman Paul Goldschmidt will not be making the trip up to Toronto to play the Blue Jays in a quick two-game series due to the fact that they are not vaccinated against Covid-19. Canada currently has restrictions against those traveling into the country who are not vaccinated and that prevents Arenado and Goldschmidt from entering the country to play. Catcher Austin Romine will also not be making the trip.
Due to the MLB’s collective bargaining agreement, they all will forfeit pay and major league service and will be placed on the restricted list. Arenado stands to lose $385,416, Goldschmidt $241,758 and Roman $10,989.
Both All-Stars explained their decisions not to get vaccinated with Arenado saying, “It’s just a personal choice, and I’m not trying to do a political stand here or be a spokesperson for this or that,” Arenado said. “I’m just choosing to do what’s best for me and my family, and I mean no harm. But it’s unfortunate that I’ve got to miss two games.”
Goldschmidt also double-down on his decision. “It was not an easy decision, but over this year-plus that this has happened, I’ve tried to talk to as many doctors and professionals as I could, figured out as much as I could, and I decided the potential risks outweighed the potential benefits of doing it,” he said. “It stinks that I can’t play in Toronto and can’t play these next couple of games—I hate that part of it, but that’s, unfortunately, the consequence.”
Goldschmidt is one of the most offensively productive players on the roster, leading in batting average (.333), homers (22), RBI (74), OBPS (.416) and hits (116). Arenado follows closely behind with 102 hits, 18 homers and 59 RBIs.
As the second half of the season gets underway, many fringe playoff teams are not able to drop certain games or series, therefore it remains to be seen how hard a potential two-loss series against the Blue Jays may hurt come November.
