Last month, Major League Baseball made the decision that it would not require COVID vaccinations for all minor league players. It was within MLB’s authority to make it a requirement (minor leaguers are not members of a union with whom those kinds of requirements would have to be collectively bargained), but instead will require vaccination only for other personnel.
Still, each MLB organization is entitled to make its own decision on this front, and the Chicago White Sox are the first to confirm that they will not only require vaccination for minor leaguers, but booster shots as well:
Here is a statement from the Chicago White Sox on their decision to mandate covid vaccines for all minor league players before they report to spring training later this month. pic.twitter.com/WrZtzcN0P3
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) February 12, 2022
Depending on what the testing and isolation protocols look like at the minor league level, it’s conceivable that getting any extra edge possible in reducing transmission risks is worth it – i.e., keeping your prospects on the field as much as you can. That is to say nothing of the other benefits of reducing the risk of serious illness from COVID.
We may be approaching a time when COVID is viewed as sufficiently endemic that its presence will be treated more like we treat the flu (in terms of common sense precautions, annual shots for variants like the flu, generally living your life normally otherwise, etc.). It doesn’t look like we’re quite there yet, though, which means the coming baseball season could still feature various impacts from the pandemic. The White Sox seem to want to minimize those impacts as much as possible. I would imagine other organizations will follow suit, though not necessarily all of them.
Major League players are, by virtue of their union, subject to collective bargaining with the league. While there will be health and safety protocols again this season, mandatory vaccination will almost certainly not be included.