New York City’s vaccine mandate for the private sector has been casting a cloud over whether or not there will be players on the Yankees and Mets ineligible to play if they are unvaccinated.
Among those whose vaccination status is in question includes recently signed Yankees first baseman Anthony Rizzo.
Rizzo, who acknowledged he was unvaccinated last season, was mum about the topic when he was asked Thursday at Yankees spring training.
“With that type of stuff — especially with all the backlash the very kind of people online came at me with last year — I’ll keep that private,” he said, via David Lennon of Newsday. “But it shouldn’t be a problem.”
It’s unclear if the latter statement means he is unvaccinated or is confident that the rules in New York will change by Opening Day on April 7.
The Yankees have said team president Randy Levine is currently working with city officials regarding the mandate.
It is believed that along with Rizzo, Aaron Judge is also unvaccinated. Judge also sidestepped the question when he was asked earlier this week.
Rizzo, a cancer survivor, said on a Chicago radio station last June that he was “definitely not against getting it.”
“I’ve said all along to our doctors I’m just taking some more time to see the data on all of it,” he said. “There’s definitely some personal reason as well. But it’s just one of those things where, as we continue to get more data, I’ll continue to be more educated on it.”
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