The end of the lockout and the start of play in early April may pose problems for Major League Baseball clubs.
Players who have not been vaccinated against the coronavirus will not be allowed to travel to Canada from the United States for games against the Toronto Blue Jays and will not be paid for those games. As the “AP” news agency reported, citing the Boston television station “WCVB”, the non-payment of unvaccinated players who are therefore absent against Toronto is stipulated in a side agreement between the MLB and the players’ association.
The background is that people must be fully vaccinated against Covid-19 at least 14 days before entering Canada. The Toronto Blue Jays play their first game of the season on April 8th at home against the Texas Rangers.
Major League Baseball only ended the wage dispute on Thursday (local time) and set the start of the season on April 7th. Pros and team owners each voted for a compromise, ending the lockout after 99 days. During this time, the players were not allowed to train with their teams and prepare for the new season, while both sides in the dispute blamed each other for the repeatedly broken negotiations.
The originally planned start of the season at the end of March was no longer tenable. It is only the fourth time in MLB history and the first time since 1995 that the season has not started on the originally scheduled date because of a wage dispute.