Red Sox starting pitcher Tanner Houck told the Boston Globe is has not been vaccinated against COVID-19 and therefore he is ineligible to pitch when the team travels to Canada later this month. Charles Krupa/Associated Press
BOSTON — Red Sox Manager Alex Cora said Boston expects to be without multiple unvaccinated players for an upcoming series at Toronto.
Starting pitcher Tanner Houck told the Boston Globe on Sunday that he is not vaccinated against COVID-19 and won’t pitch during the four-game series beginning Monday, April 25. He would have been in line to start the second game.
To enter Canada, the Canadian government requires a person must have received a second COVID-19 vaccine dose – or one dose of Johnson & Johnson – at least 14 days prior to entry.
“I’m bummed that I won’t be able to make that start,” Houck said.
Cora was asked after an 8-1 win over Minnesota on Sunday if he expected to be missing other players.
“Yeah,” Cora said. He was not asked a follow-up question and then ended the press conference.
Asked earlier about Houck, Cora said: “We knew it beforehand, so we’ll plan accordingly.”
Players sidelined by COVID-19 vaccine issues are not paid and do not accrue major league service time while on the restricted list.
Oakland placed catcher Austin Allen and left-handers A.J. Puk and Kirby Snead on the restricted list for the Athletics’ series in Toronto this weekend.
“I think it’s a personal choice for everyone whether they get it or not,” Houck told The Globe.
BRAVES: Ronald Acuña Jr. will begin a rehab assignment with Triple-A Gwinnett on Tuesday as he nears a return from the torn right ACL that ended his 2021 season.
Atlanta said prior to a game Sunday night at San Diego that Acuña would join Gwinnett at Jacksonville for a series beginning Tuesday.
TWINS: Minnesota placed right-hander Sonny Gray on the 10-day injured list with a low grade strained hamstring a day after he left his start.
To take his place on the roster, the team activated right-hander Cody Stashak, who was on the IL with right biceps tendinitis.
Manager Rocco Baldelli said before the game that he doesn’t think Gray will miss more than one start.
Gray (0-1) allowed a homer to Alex Verdugo in the second inning before being pulled two batters later with right hamstring tightness in Minnesota’s 4-0 loss to Boston on Saturday. The 32-year-old was acquired from Cincinnati in a trade last month.
BLUE JAYS: Toronto added left-hander Hyun Jin Ryu to the 10-day injured list with left forearm inflammation.
The 35-year-old Ryu was pulled after just four innings in Saturday’s 7-4 loss to the Oakland Athletics. He lasted less than that in his first start of the season April 10, when he allowed six earned runs over 3 1/3 innings in a 12-6 loss to Texas.
Ryu, who won 14 games for the Blue Jays last season, is in the third year of a $80-million, four-year contract with Toronto.
• Blue Jays broadcaster Buck Martinez has been diagnosed with cancer and will be stepping away from the broadcast booth.
Martinez said in a statement released by Sportsnet that Sunday’s game against the Oakland Athletics would be his last for “a little while” as he begins weeks of cancer treatment.
“I’m grateful for a tremendous medical team, who has given me great optimism that I will come through this with flying colors,” Martinez said. “I hope to rejoin my Sportsnet teammates for the stretch run later this season, but in the mean time I will be watching from the sidelines as I fight the good fight.”
Martinez has been associated with the Blue Jays since 1981, when he began a six-year stint as one of the team’s catchers. He played 17 big league seasons in Toronto, Kansas City and Milwaukee.
ORIOLES: Baltimore transferred left-hander John Means to the 60-day injured list with a sprained elbow.
The move wasn’t a huge surprise after manager Brandon Hyde conceded the previous day that it would be a while before Means pitched again. Hyde said then that the 28-year-old lefty – who threw a no-hitter less than a year ago – was seeking second opinions about his injury.
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