Yankees Apparently All Vaccinated, Set To Play In Toronto

In somewhat of a surprise, the full healthy New York Yankees roster is on hand in Toronto, ready to take on the Blue Jays. This wasn't expected, as there were many suggestions that some players on the Yankees weren't vaccinated, and wouldn't be eligible to play in Toronto. But Jon Heyman, and the Yankees lineup card, suggests otherwise.

All Yankees players made it into Toronto with their vax cards. Important series. Good for them!
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) May 2, 2022

Here’s the #Yankees lineup against the #BlueJays: pic.twitter.com/7LHGscAGHh
— Bryan Hoch (@BryanHoch) May 2, 2022

The only player missing, as noted by reporter Bryan Hoch, is Joey Gallo, who apparently suffered a groin injury on Saturday.

In the weeks leading up to this series, certain Yankees, most notably Aaron Judge, refused to discuss their vaccination status, and were very evasive about the question. Last year, Anthony Rizzo insisted he wasn't vaccinated (and seemed proud of it). It's possible that the need to compete in a crucial series against their most difficult division rival convinced any hold-outs to get the shot.

Or to put it another way, as one Tweeter noted, the Yankees must be more afraid of the vaunted Blue Jays than getting jabbed.

I heard that the whole Yankee team will be in Toronto. Has anybody else heard that. I thought there were quite a few that weren't vaccinated. Maybe the Blue Jay team scares them more than getting the shots.
— PRAYFORUKRAINE🇺🇦 (@pam_swan) May 2, 2022

Manager Aaron Boone had stated weeks ago that he didn't think this was going to be a problem, so maybe he knew something the rest of us didn't. In the meantime, getting any last-minute shots certainly doesn't seem to have affected the likes of Judge or Rizzo, as the Yanks are riding a 9-game win streak, and Rizzo leads the majors with 9 HRs.

The Yankees currently lead the Jays in the AL East by 1.5 games, and these four games north of the border will be a good early-season barometer of where things stand.

Photo Credit: Jay Biggerstaff-USA TODAY Sports