Major League Baseball and the players union have agreed to relax COVID-19 protocols for vaccinated players and coaches, and for teams where 85 percent of individuals in their designated tier of protection are fully vaccinated.
The league informed teams of the policy in a memo Monday that was obtained by Yahoo Sports. MLB is not mandating that players get the vaccine, but the memo stated that “all players and staff are strongly encouraged to receive one of the approved COVID-19 vaccines when eligible.”
Once clubs achieve 85 percent vaccination, Tier 1 individuals — players and coaches with dugout access to games, primarily — will no longer need to wear face masks in dugouts or bullpens or wear contact tracing devices while in team facilities.