Twins place Max Kepler, three others on restricted list ahead of games in Toronto

While there has been no confirmation of the vaccination status of the quartet of Twins, players must be vaccinated to enter Canada and other teams have faced similar issues when heading north of the border this season. The Boston Red Sox for example, were down multiple unvaccinated players when they traveled to face the Blue Jays earlier this year.

Minnesota has already been seeing guys normally at the top of their depth chart drop like flies due to injuries and COVID-19 recently, and this will only make them more shorthanded. On Thursday, the team placed two-time All-Star starter Sonny Gray on the injured list with a pectoral strain, and earlier, both All-Star shortstop Carlos Correa and standout rookie hurler Joe Ryan were placed on the COVID-19 IL as well.

Max Kepler currently ranks second on the team in home runs (six), total bases (66), RBIs (25) and walks (23), while ranking third in runs scored (23), on-base percentage (.357) and OPS (.786). Emilio Pagan — who was acquired in a trade with the San Diego Padres on Opening Day this year — is the Twins primary closer with seven saves.

The team's most-used reliever in 2022, Caleb Thielbar has appeared in a team-high 22 games this season and has posted a 5.59 ERA and 1.34 WHIP across 19.1 innings pitched. Trevor Megill has pitched in five games and has a 1.04 ERA and  0.92 WHIP through 8 2/3 innings pitched.