Cardinals' Paul Goldschmidt, Nolan Arenado open up about missing games over COVID vaccination status
The Cardinals are vying for a division title
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}St. Louis Cardinals players Paul Goldschmidt, Nolan Arenado and Austin Romine will miss the team’s upcoming series against the Toronto Blue Jays due to their coronavirus vaccination status.
All three are unvaccinated against COVID-19 and because of Canada’s rules for entering the country, they will all miss the series. St. Louis will place them on the restricted list before the series.
Goldschmidt opened up about the decision in an interview with The Athletic on Sunday.
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St. Louis Cardinals' Nolan Arenado fields the ball hit by Cincinnati Reds' Kyle Farmer for an out during the second inning of a baseball game in Cincinnati, Sunday, July 24, 2022. (AP Photo/Aaron Doster)
"I talked to as many doctors and medical professionals as I could to try to gather as much info on what they know, what they don’t know and all of that type of stuff,’ he said. "For me, I just determined that the potential risks of taking the vaccine outweigh the potential benefits.
"It’s obviously not an easy decision; there’s a lot of stuff going on. The last thing I want to do is what’s going to affect the team. But I just felt that the risks outweigh the benefits for me, and (I’m) just trying to make the best medical decision I can for myself."
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St. Louis Cardinals' Paul Goldschmidt hits a solo home run during the sixth inning of a baseball game against the Cincinnati Reds in Cincinnati, Sunday, July 24, 2022. (AP Photo/Aaron Doster)
Goldschmidt did not elaborate on the "potential risks."
Arenado told The Athletic he was hoping Canada would relax its rules.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"It’s my own personal reasons why. I don’t really want to get into too much detail about it. It’s unfortunate because I don’t want to miss games, especially when I’m healthy. I was just kind of hopeful that Canada was going to turn," he added.
All three players will forfeit pay and Major League service time under the league’s collective bargaining rules. Arenado will miss out on $384,416, Goldschmidt will give up $241,758 and Romine will surrender $10,989.
Paul Goldschmidt, #46, and Nolan Arenado, #28 of the St. Louis Cardinals, wait for their hat and gloves in between the second inning against the St. Louis Cardinals in a spring training game at Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium on March 02, 2021 in Jupiter, Florida. (Mark Brown/Getty Images)
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}As of Monday, the Cardinals are 2.5 games behind the Milwaukee Brewers for the National League Central lead.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.