Phillies’ J.T. Realmuto on missing Toronto series: ‘I’m not going to let Canada tell me what I do and don’t put in my body’

ST. LOUIS — J.T. Realmuto will forfeit roughly $262,000 in salary for missing the Phillies’ two-game series in Toronto this week because he isn’t vaccinated against COVID-19.

But the star catcher believes his principles are worth every dollar.

“I’m not going to let Canada tell me what I do and don’t put in my body for a little bit of money,” Realmuto said Monday night after the Phillies’ 6-1 loss to the St. Louis Cardinals. “It’s not worth it.”

Realmuto, third baseman Alec Bohm, and starting pitchers Aaron Nola and Kyle Gibson did not accompany the Phillies to Toronto after Monday night’s game. Instead, they went to Miami and will meet the team Friday for the final series before the All-Star break.

» READ MORE: Cardinals rock Aaron Nola as 6-1 loss leaves Phils with disappointing split; Alec Bohm injured

Each player offered different reasons for not getting a shot. Bohm said it was a “personal choice,” while Gibson cited a medical condition. Nola, who wouldn’t have pitched in Toronto after starting Monday night in St. Louis and giving up five runs in seven innings, said he simply “didn’t want to do it.”

But Realmuto, who signed a five-year, $115.5 million contract before last season, offered the most adamant rebuke of Canada’s regulations, which deny entry to the country for unvaccinated people.

“I’m a healthy 31-year-old professional athlete. I just didn’t feel the need to get it,” Realmuto said as his teammates packed to leave St. Louis. “I wasn’t going to take it just because I was told to, basically.”

Realmuto said he has had COVID-19 more than once since 2020 and experienced “super-mild symptoms.” He also said he consulted a few doctors that he knows before deciding not to get vaccinated.

The Phillies placed Realmuto and Bohm on the restricted list and replaced them. Triple-A catcher Rafael Marchan will be called up to take Realmuto’s spot, with backup Garrett Stubbs slated to start Tuesday night against the Blue Jays. Stubbs hasn’t started two games in a row yet this season.

After scoring seven runs in four games against the Cardinals without injured Bryce Harper (broken left thumb) and Jean Segura (broken right index finger), the Phillies will be down two more lineup staples.

Realmuto will meet the team Friday in Miami, where he has arranged to work out at a training facility over the next two days. He has played more innings than any catcher in baseball but is having a subpar season at the plate. He’s batting .240 with seven home runs and a .684 on-base plus slugging.

The Phillies have an organizational policy that requires COVID-19 vaccinations for full-time employees, but it doesn’t apply to players, who are shielded from such mandates by their union’s collective bargaining with Major League Baseball. The team has encouraged players to get vaccinated through presentations by medical professionals.

”My teammates know how I feel about them and how bad I want to be out there with them,” Realmuto said. “But it’s just unfortunate that I’m not able to make the trip.”

Asked if he may reconsider his stance if the Phillies and Blue Jays make the playoffs and could possibly square off in the World Series, Realmuto declined to discuss a hypothetical scenario.

“I hope by that point that it’s all figured out and we don’t have to deal with this anymore,” he said.