Royals vs. Blue Jays Thursday MLB injury report, odds: Kansas City biggest underdog in 3 years without 10 players due to COVID vaccination status

The Toronto Blue Jays were going to have an advantage at home this entire MLB season because teams heading north of the border to visit Rogers Centre aren't allowed to bring players who are unvaccinated for COVID. The most players a team had lost so far had been four… but Kansas City will down a whopping 10 when it opens a series at the Blue Jays tonight. The Royals are mammoth +300 underdogs at Caesars Sportsbook.

Out for the series are All-Star outfielder Andrew Benintendi, super-utilityman Whit Merrifield, catcher MJ Melendez, first baseman/outfielder Hunter Dozier, right-hander Brad Keller, right-hander Brady Singer, center fielder Michael A. Taylor, outfielder Kyle Isbel, reliever Dylan Coleman and catcher Cam Gallagher. Merrifield wasn't going to play anyways as he's hurt; his streak of 553 consecutive games played, which had been longest active in the majors, ended early this week. Former All-Star catcher Salvador Perez is also on the injured list.

Benintendi, who leads the team with a .317 average and is likely to be traded by the Aug. 2 deadline, Melendez, Dozier, Taylor and Isbel play every day for the most part. Edward Olivares is the only vaccinated primary outfielder on the Royals' roster right now. Keller was lined up to pitch Saturday. Coleman is 2-1 with a 3.13 ERA in 38 appearances out of the bullpen.

Players who go on the restricted list will lose pay and service time for four days. Merrifield said he would think about getting the vaccine in the future because of his desire to play in the postseason in case of a series in Toronto – the Royals aren't making the playoffs, but Merrifield could be traded. The team will also be without some coaches, although names have not been revealed.

"At the end of the day, it's their choice. It's what they decide to do. And we've always been an organization that promotes and encourages individual choices," Royals president of baseball operations Dayton Moore said of the players not getting vaccinated for COVID. "Unfortunately, some of this affects the team. We're disappointed in some of that, but we realize it's part of the game and part of the world we live in."

I've seen some social media memes calling the Royals the Omaha Storm Chasers for this series; that's the team's Triple-A affiliate, and needless to say a lot of guys will be called up from there.

I'd like to tell you with 100 percent certainty who is starting on the mound tonight for the Royals, but we may not know for a few hours. A few sites have hinted at Jackson Kowar, who is 0-6 with a 10.92 ERA in 43.2 big-league innings. He last pitched Saturday and allowed five runs over 2.2 innings vs. Cleveland.

Toronto will go with Kevin Gausman (6-6, 2.86), who hasn't pitched since taking a comebacker off his ankle on July 2 vs. Tampa Bay.

While these odds will shift all day, it's the first time since September 2019 that Kansas City is at least at +300 underdog. In the database I search, there's nothing with the Jays as at least -375 favorites as they are as of this writing. They were -360 on Oct. 3, 2021 vs. Baltimore and won 12-4. From what I can gather, the Jays are the biggest favorites of the 2022 season thus far. 

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