MLB Will Not Require Minor League Players to Be Vaccinated in 2022

AP Photo
AP Photo
Dylan Gwinn

No one knows if there will even be a baseball season in 2022, but if there is, MLB’s minor leaguers will be able to play without being vaccinated.

News of the policy, hopefully, the first of many as the league slowly returns to normalcy, was posted to Twitter by ESPN MLB reporter Jeff Passan Thursday afternoon:

However, as Passan notes, the rule change only applies to players. “Managers, coaches, and on-field staff” will have to comply fully and remain “up to date” on vaccinations to have “in-person contact with players.”

In a follow-up tweet, Passan noted, “Currently unvaccinated staff can get a shot before the start of minor league spring training. Staff can avoid being vaccinated via “only bona fide religious and medical exemption requests.”

Whether major league players will be required to get vaccinated will likely be addressed in MLB’s ongoing CBA discussions with the MLB Players Association.

Passan continued:

All major sports leagues have begun rolling back testing in some form. For example, the NFL is no longer testing asymptomatic players regardless of their vaccination status. The NHL has said it will stop testing asymptomatic players after the All-Star break in early February. The NBA, however, has maintained a stringent policy of daily testing for asymptomatic unvaccinated players.

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