Guardians reliever James Karinchak won't be able to pitch in Toronto: Report
The Guardians will be without a key part of their bullpen when they travel to Toronto this weekend for a series against the Blue Jays.
Guardians reliever James Karinchak, who is still unvaccinated against COVID-19, will not be able to join the team for that road series, according to an MLB.com report. The Canadian government requires all visitors to be vaccinated before entering the country.
According to the report, manager Terry Francona confirmed Tuesday that Karinchak is the only Guardians player who will not be able to make the trip to Toronto. The team is expected to place Karinchak on the restricted list and replace him on the active roster for those three games. Karinchak will not receive his salary or accrue service time while on the restricted list.
Karinchak missed the first several months of the 2022 season with an upper back/shoulder strain but has been effective since returning, posting a 1.98 ERA with 23 strikeouts in 13⅔ innings. He'll potentially be a key absence against a talented Blue Jays lineup as the Guardians chase the Minnesota Twins in the American League Central.
Entering Wednesday, the Guardians (57-52) were tied with the Twins atop the AL Central and in the mix with the Blue Jays (60-50), Rays (58-51), Mariners (59-52), Baltimore Orioles (58-52) and Chicago White Sox (56-54) for a wild-card berth.
Teams all around baseball have dealt with losing unvaccinated players for series in Toronto. The most notable situation was with the Kansas City Royals, who had 10 players who couldn't play in Toronto. That included Whit Merrifield, who was later traded to the Blue Jays and is now cleared to play in Canada.
Ryan Lewis can be reached at rlewis1@gannett.com. Read more about the Guardians at www.beaconjournal.com/sports/cleveland-guardians. Follow him on Twitter at @ByRyanLewis.
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: James Karinchak to be lone player on restricted list in Toronto
