Update: 7:01 p.m.
PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — The Phillies announced Tuesday evening that they have placed pitchers Bailey Falter and J.D. Hammer on the team's COVID-19-related injured list.
Original story
About half of 26 players on the Phillies' current roster have turned down the COVID-19 vaccine, according to a report Tuesday morning from Inquirer columnist and 94WIP host Marcus Hayes, citing several sources — two connected to Phils ownership and management, in addition to team and league sources.
"It's remarkable, but that's the United States," Hayes told Angelo Cataldi and the Morning Team on Tuesday. "About half the United States is like, 'Ehhh, I don't know. I'll get around to it, maybe.'"
KYW Newsradio reached out to the Phillies' communications team about Hayes' reporting, but they had no response at the time of publication.
The Phillies are one of the Major League Baseball teams that has not reached an 85% vaccination rate among Tier 1 individuals (players, coaches, clubhouse staff). Doing so would allow COVID-19 restrictions to loosen for them.
Hayes went on to say that, despite Joe Girardi setting up the team's COVID-19 response for the media with a vaccination field day in June, he could understand the manager's despair, just throwing his hands up.
"[Fans] could get vaccinated and a hotdog and a bobblehead doll and free tickets if you went to a game and got vaccinated during a Braves series," Hayes said. "He told us that. I don't expect it to change. I expect this to be the norm for the season. So, I wasn't surprised."
Right before the All-Star break, the Phillies had to put four players on the COVID-19 Injured List because third baseman Alec Bohm tested positive. The other three players were considered close contacts. One of those players was starting pitcher Aaron Nola.
Nola not being vaccinated is particularly ironic, according to Hayes' reporting: The bobblehead offered to fans for getting vaccinated at the ballpark was in the image of the pitcher.
NBC Sports Philadelphia's Jim Salisbury, among others, reported last week that Nola told reporters this last COVID-19 situation for the Phillies, as of now, won't make him change his mind about remaining unvaccinated. He called it "a personal choice."
It is widely reported that Major League Baseball's COVID-19 protocols state those who are vaccinated are not subjected to contact tracing.
Phillies President of Baseball Operations Dave Dombrowski said on NBC Sports Philadelphia's "Takeoff with John Clark" podcast
that he wished players were vaccinated and have encouraged and educated them to do so, but he can't mandate anyone to get the shots.
"It would make our lives a lot easier if everybody was vaccinated, but I don't think that that's something you can force upon somebody," Dombrowski said. "I think it's an individual choice, and we just have — unfortunately, in some cases — have a lot of players that choose to not be vaccinated for all the particular reasons."
(Start the video below at 15:46.)
Nola is scheduled to start at the New York Yankees tonight — his first start since July 6. He was scratched from his previous start because he was placed on the COVID-19-related Injured List.