Phils & Covid

[zambonir]

The contact tracing could still take out a lot of the unvaccinated players. Game is now delayed.

[andyb]

Well I was having an internal debate over watching the game or Ted Lasso. Which would make me feel better?

[zambonir]

I think Richmond is more due for a win.

[andyb]

Possible they are waiting for a couple of players to arrive (like Marchan) or test results.

[bkox]

Al Leiter, John Smoltz won't appear at MLB Network studios after refusing vaccine https://t.co/ykeZ1iZY2D pic.twitter.com/6BcPGvOOlk

— New York Post Sports ( @nypostsports ) September 1, 2021

[zambonir]

Smoltzy is just a polite Curt, IIRC.

[zambonir]

I guess this is just our general sports COVID thread now

Meyer's remarks on Jags' cuts spark NFLPA probe

[el-pietro]

That makes sense. If you are a marginal player it's totally logical to consider as a factor, similar to injury likeliness. Why carry a backup who you can't rely on to be available over someone similar who is more likely to be ready to play when needed.

[LoneStarPhan]

COVID vaccination status is an important factor in predicting the contribution a player can make. The unvaxed are more likely to miss time and more likely to cause others to miss time. A factor that has to be considered.

[zambonir]

The NFL is just very different than MLB. Non-guaranted contracts, more marginal players. Even the young ones, if they don't project as future starters, are basically expendable/interchangeable.

Whereas the Phillies obviously would not be willing to just release (or even trade away) Bailey Falter. Let alone Aaron Nola.

If this continues to be a factor in the off-season (i.e. if there's not simply a mandate) they'd certainly have to consider it as they make roster decisions. I also suspect those roster decisions may tell us a bit more about who wasn't vaccinated (and/or influenced others to not be), though at the end of the day it seems clear at least some of the best players (besides Nola) are part of that group. And somehow have avoided addressing the topic.

[andyb]

I think COVID vaccine status is completely fair game for teams to consider in roster and contract decisions, just like age and health are. Do you think Cam Newton would have been cut if he were 23 years old? Would you offer a player like Nola less money as a free agent and you knew he was unvaccinated and COVID were still a thing at that time? Yes. It would be a completely rational decision. And with marginal roster decisions one does it every day.

[zambonir]

Our next emergency catcher?

Bob Boone, #Nats vice president and senior adviser to GM Mike Rizzo, informed the Nats he will resign instead of complying to their coronavirus vaccination mandate, per @dougherty_jesse and @ZacharyFaria

— Bob Nightengale ( @BNightengale ) September 1, 2021

[Sabin]

The NFL is just very different than MLB. Non-guaranted contracts, more marginal players. Even the young ones, if they don't project as future starters, are basically expendable/interchangeable.

I suppose that's one way of putting it. I tend to think of baseball as having more isolated individual performances as part of its game. Hence, many different aspects can be, and are, tracked, analyzed, and developed (some better than others) in what is a capacious system of junior varsity players when compared to the practice squads of the NFL.

IMO, baseball has its fair share of marginal players as well. I guess it just depends on your perspective.

[andyb]

The Nats let several front office personnel go because of vaccination status. I also would not be shocked if Bohm not getting called up might be a little related to this. If he was not really playing better than Torreyes, why bring an unvaccinated player back into your September clubhouse?

This is baseball treating vaccination status like injury status. An older player coming off knee surgery might be expected to miss some games in the next season. So they get a lower contract offer. Perfectly legal business reasoning here.

[zambonir]

I suppose that's one way of putting it. I tend to think of baseball as having more isolated individual performances as part of its game. Hence, many different aspects can be, and are, tracked, analyzed, and developed (some better than others) in what is a capacious system of junior varsity players when compared to the practice squads of the NFL.

IMO, baseball has its fair share of marginal players as well. I guess it just depends on your perspective.

What does that make college football?

Heck, the majority of baseball players are marginal, but teams still value monopolizing their rights for four or five years. And sure, the 25th or 26th major leaguer might not be treated any differently than the last NFL cut.

Did Falter get vaccinated? If so that would certainly suggest the team has been more conscious of the issue. I wonder if Rosso and Bedrosian are. If any of them aren't, than Bohm's status has nothing to do with it either.

[Sabin]

What does that make college football?

College baseball?

NFL teams don't have extensive, team-owned farm systems; they have a 15-man practice squad. And even those players can be signed away if placed on another team's 53-man roster. Football has no 16 year-olds signing out of high school for development by their professional team. No Latin American programs or drafts either. There are a few semi-pro leagues, but baseball has them as well.

My point was just that I don't really see NFL teams as having a greater number of marginal, more expendable/interchangeable players than an MLB counterpart. Definitely agree that the two leagues are very different in terms of player systems/unions.

[LoneStarPhan]

I would not sign any free agent that was not fully vaccinated. No exception.

[zambonir]

"With at least one team, star players are taking a hard line against the vaccine behind the scenes, according to multiple sources."

Rosenthal: Red Sox, other teams with lower vaccination rates may be jeopardizing...

Baseball culture historically frowns on self-centered behavior, to the point where only recently have displays of on-field emotion become more acceptable. Yet the vast majority of players, at least publicly, are not even questioning teammates who refuse to get the vaccine, deferring to the personal preferences of those players rather than citing the need to protect one another in a public health crisis.

[bkox]

Heyman reports that the Phillies, Mets, Mariners and Red Sox are the 4 teams still in the playoff hunt that have not hit the 85% vaccination rate.

[bkox]

The Phillies, according to Joe Girardi, reached the 85% vaccinated threshold yesterday. That counts Triple-A personnel and support staff in the majors.

— Matt Gelb ( @MattGelb ) September 15, 2021