Revealed: These 4 Minnesota Twins To Be Missing Series in Toronto

The Minnesota Twins will be without their closer, one of their top power bats, a high-service lefty out of their bullpen and another reliever when they begin a series with the Toronto Blue Jays at Rogers Centre Friday night.

Max Kepler, Emilio Pagán, Caleb Thielbar and Trevor Megill have been placed on the restricted list and won’t be with the Twins in Toronto this weekend.
— Betsy Helfand (@betsyhelfand) June 3, 2022

Emilio Pagán, Max Kepler, Caleb Thielbar and Trevor Megill have all been placed on the restricted list and won't collect their salary or service time for the weekend series, due to their choices to remain unvaccinated. Travelers crossing the U.S./Canada border in either direction who are not vaccinated must quarantine for two weeks upon entry, thereby making any MLB players ineligible to play for their teams.

Pagan said he's aware his choice may anger some in his clubhouse. “I know that there are going to be people that are very angry for this opinion and the stance, but that’s fine,” Pagán said. “I feel like I had a choice to make, and they also have a choice if they’re going to be mad at me or not.”

There's certainly a large contingent of Twins fans who won't be angry that Pagan won't be available in Toronto, as many feel that flame-throwing Jhoan Duran should be their full-time closer anyway. He gets that chance this weekend.

The Twins are already short several other players on the IL, including starters Joe Ryan and Sonny Gray, and young phenom shortstop Royce Lewis.

They'll be facing a Blue Jays team that has won eight straight games.

Photo Credit: Bruce Kluckhohn-USA TODAY Sports