Unvaccinated Yankees, Mets won't be able to play at home

Unvaccinated players on the New York Yankees and New York Mets will be ineligible to play home games under the current private sector employer mandate, a government spokesperson told Stefan Bondy and Dennis Young of the New York Daily News.

The same COVID-19 vaccine mandate is also preventing NBA star Kyrie Irving from playing for the Brooklyn Nets at the Barclays Center.

New York City isn't planning on handing out individual exceptions, and it also doesn't matter that baseball is played outside, the spokesperson said, who added the rules could ultimately change based on where the pandemic is at.

The MLBPA and MLB clubs are looking into getting clarification on the difference between playing indoors and outdoors, reports Marly Rivera of ESPN. The union and teams believe the issue will be resolved by Opening Day on April 7, sources told Rivera.

"On behalf of the Yankees, (team president) Randy Levine is working with city hall and all other appropriate officials on this matter. We will have no further comment," the Yankees said in a statement.

Major leaguers who don't play because they are unvaccinated won't be paid or accumulate service time under the new collective bargaining agreement.

Yankees star Aaron Judge is believed to be unvaccinated, according to Bondy and Young.

Judge declined to talk about his vaccination status when asked Tuesday:

The three-time All-Star is entering a contract year and said he would like to negotiate an extension before the 2022 campaign starts.

On Sunday, manager Aaron Boone also expressed concern about playing the Toronto Blue Jays in Canada since there are Yankees players who aren't vaccinated. Unvaccinated players are currently unable to cross the border and reportedly won't be able to suit up for games due to travel restrictions.