{"id":35946,"date":"2022-08-05T03:44:57","date_gmt":"2022-08-05T03:44:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/whit-merrifield-vaccinated-excited-to-join-blue-jays\/"},"modified":"2022-08-05T03:44:57","modified_gmt":"2022-08-05T03:44:57","slug":"whit-merrifield-vaccinated-excited-to-join-blue-jays","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/whit-merrifield-vaccinated-excited-to-join-blue-jays\/","title":{"rendered":"Whit Merrifield vaccinated, excited to join Blue Jays"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\n

MINNEAPOLIS — The Blue Jays brought in \ufeffWhit Merrifield\ufeff’s speed and versatility to give their depth a shot in the arm, which will be easier now that he has one in his. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\n
\n

Soon after joining his new club Thursday in Minneapolis, Merrifield said that he has received the COVID-19 vaccine and will be eligible to enter Canada following this road trip.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\n
\n

\u201cFor a couple of weeks now, I’ve understood that this might be a possibility. I’ll be in Toronto when the team goes there,\u201d Merrifield said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\n
\n

When the Royals traveled to Toronto from June 14-17, Merrifield was one of 10 unvaccinated players left behind. That’s why his acquisition by the Blue Jays on Tuesday caught so many off guard, given the vaccine requirements to cross the Canada-US border. This hasn’t been an issue for Toronto’s players, of course, because while the same rules apply to them entering the United States, they’ve all been vaccinated.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\n
\n

\u201cIt was something that I probably could have handled a little better,\u201d Merrifield said, \u201cbut what’s happened has happened. I’m excited to be a Blue Jay, and I’m excited to get to Toronto and play at Rogers Centre.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\n
\n

Merrifield has long been an everyday player for the Royals, playing all over the diamond, and interim manager John Schneider expects him to be in the lineup \u201cmost days.\u201d He’s hit .300 and led the league in hits before, but he is batting .240 with a .643 OPS this season. Those numbers will need to improve first.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\n
\n

When Merrifield was traded, one of the first texts to pop up on his phone was from Zack Greinke. No, it didn’t say “congratulations” or \u201cI’ll miss you.\u201d It was a tweet showing Merrifield’s 2022 stats versus his expected numbers, with Greinke telling Merrifield that he’s a good player, even if the numbers have n’t shown that fully over the first 95 games.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\n
\n

Where you’ll notice Merrifield immediately, though, is on the bases.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\n
\n

\u201cWhen you play against certain teams, from the outside, there’s certain teams that come in and you feel energy from them,\u201d Merrifield said. \u201cThis is one of those teams. From top to bottom, it’s exciting baseball. I’m excited. I’m saying ‘excited’ a lot. I’m excited to be part of this team.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\n
\n

Under Schneider, that energy has taken the form of extreme aggression on the bases. Players are running whenever possible, and sometimes when it doesn’t look possible. This doesn’t just mean stolen-base attempts, but trying to stretch singles into doubles and tagging up more often. The Blue Jays are bringing the game to opponents’ doorssteps, and the new guy loves it.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\n
\n

\u201cI love running,\u201d Merrifield said, grinning. \u201cThey love to run, so that’s right up my alley.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\n
\n

Schneider was just as thrilled. When Merrifield isn’t starting a game, he’ll be the perfect option off the bench late in games.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\n
\n

\u201cIt fits him perfectly,\u201d Schneider said. \u201cWe’ve talked about spots that he likes to run in and things he likes to do on the bases. It’s cool to talk about that type of stuff with a guy who really has a passion for it. He’s going to fit right in. He’s got the green light.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\n
\n

Merrifield made his Blue Jays debut Thursday against the Twins, playing center field and batting eighth. His position and lineup spot will change most days, but now that the biggest question of all has been answered, Toronto can exhale and focus on the postseason race ahead.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

MINNEAPOLIS — The Blue Jays brought in \ufeffWhit Merrifield\ufeff’s speed and versatility to give their depth a shot in the arm, which will be easier now that he has one in his. Soon after joining his new club Thursday in Minneapolis, Merrifield said that he has received the COVID-19 vaccine and will be eligible to …<\/p>\n

Whit Merrifield vaccinated, excited to join Blue Jays<\/span> Read More »<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","spay_email":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true},"categories":[6],"tags":[662,663,661],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":33742,"url":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/kansas-city-royals-second-baseman-whit-merrifield-traded-to-toronto-blue-jays\/","url_meta":{"origin":35946,"position":0},"title":"Kansas City Royals second baseman Whit Merrifield traded to Toronto Blue Jays","date":"August 3, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Whit Merrifield said last month that he might be willing to get vaccinated against COVID-19 if it meant playing for a team in contention, even though he had refused to get the shot while playing for the last-place Kansas City Royals.He'll have to make that decision\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Sports"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":14928,"url":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/royals-president-says-whit-merrifield-sorry-for-saying-he-would-have-gotten-vaccinated-for-a-contender\/","url_meta":{"origin":35946,"position":1},"title":"Royals president says Whit Merrifield ‘sorry’ for saying he would have gotten vaccinated for a contender","date":"July 15, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"It was a rough day for the Kansas City Royals when it was announced that 10 of their players wouldn't be able to play in a road series against the Toronto Blue Jays because they are unvaccinated, but arguably the lowest moment came from one of the franchise's clubhouse leaders.Two-time\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Sports"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":13858,"url":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/unvaccinated-royals-lay-bare-their-lack-of-commitment\/","url_meta":{"origin":35946,"position":2},"title":"Unvaccinated Royals Lay Bare Their Lack of Commitment","date":"July 14, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Canada's vaccine mandate saves lives. It promotes good public health. It also helps baseball fans figure out which players can be bothered to care about winning. Canada, as does the United States, requires all noncitizen travelers to provide proof of vaccination against COVID-19 to enter the country. That means anyone\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Sports"","img":{"alt_text":"Kansas City Royals second baseman Whit Merrifield (15) turns to make a throw to first base during the sixth inning against the Texas Rangers at Kauffman Stadium.","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.si.com\/.image\/c_limit%2Ccs_srgb%2Cfl_progressive%2Cq_auto:good%2Cw_700\/MTkwODc4NDY2OTE5Mzc2NTY2\/whit-merrifield.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":38901,"url":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/twins-manager-rocco-baldelli-ejected-criticizes-pathetic-umpiring\/","url_meta":{"origin":35946,"position":3},"title":"Twins Manager Rocco Baldelli Ejected, Criticizes ‘Pathetic’ Umpiring","date":"August 8, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Twins manager Rocco Baldelli was ejected in the 10th inning of a 3\u20132 loss to the Blue Jays on Sunday following a controversial play at the plate and subsequent replay review, which Baldelli labeled \u201cone of the worst moments I think we've seen of umpiring in any game I've ever\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Sports"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":14202,"url":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/canadas-vaccine-requirement-and-personal-decisions-are-altering-the-mlb-landscape\/","url_meta":{"origin":35946,"position":4},"title":"Canada’s vaccine requirement and ‘personal decisions’ are altering the MLB landscape","date":"July 14, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"For 99 days this winter, the owners of Major League Baseball held the sport hostage as they haggled with the Major League Baseball Players Association over the terms of a new collective bargaining agreement. The lockout spanned months and numbed brains. The two sides argued over luxury tax penalties, over\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Sports"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":38751,"url":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/twins-rocco-baldelli-rages-after-controversial-call-in-loss-to-blue-jays-i-think-it-was-pathetic\/","url_meta":{"origin":35946,"position":5},"title":"Twins’ Rocco Baldelli rages after controversial call in loss to Blue Jays: ‘I think it was pathetic’","date":"August 8, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles! Minnesota Twins manager Rocco Baldelli was raging following a controversial call during his team's game against the Toronto Blue Jays on Sunday.The Twins and the Blue Jays, both in the middle of playoff races, went into the 10th inning. Cavan Biggio was\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Sports"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/img.mlbstatic.com\/mlb-images\/image\/private\/t_2x1\/t_w1536\/mlb\/jvgpgx5ltqawy9l2unzs.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35946"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=35946"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35946\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=35946"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=35946"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=35946"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}