■ Cubs vaccination rate disappoints team President Jed Hoyer.

Team’s vaccination rate still sitting below 85%

Cubs President Jed Hoyer didn’t mince words Thursday, calling his team’s failure to get 85% of Tier 1 employees fully vaccinated “disappointing” and agreeing the team would be at a competitive disadvantage if it doesn’t reach the goal.

“It’s disappointing to not be at 85% as a team,” Hoyer said on a teleconference before the game against the Nationals. “We’ve worked hard to get as many people vaccinated as possible. It’s hard to try and convince or educate the people who have been reluctant.

“I think we’re at a place now, candidly, I’m not going to give up hope that we can get there, but my level of optimism is waning.”

About half of the major leagues’ 32 teams — including the White Sox — are already past the 85% mark and have had protocols relaxed. Hoyer pointed to the “conveniences” of having those relaxed protocols, including managers and coaches being able to shed masks in the dugout, players dining out together and eliminating the contact-tracing element.

Hoyer called it “a real competitive advantage we’re going to miss.”

That statement is in stark contrast to one made by Cubs pitcher Jake Arrieta, who said last weekend it would not be a disadvantage for teams if they didn’t reach the mark.

“I don’t want to directly refute that,” Hoyer said of Arrieta’s remark. “I just said it was a competitive advantage to be at 85%.”

Was Hoyer upset one of his players said the exact opposite of his viewpoint?

“I don’t agree with it,” he said. “It’s irrefutable. The more players are vaccinated, and therefore you eliminate the contact-tracing element of (protocols), it eliminates risk.

“So eliminating risk is a competitive advantage.”

Cubs players who have been vaccinated will have to suffer the consequences of the few teammates and Tier 1 employees who have refused the vaccinations.

Cubs shortstop Javier Báez recently teamed with Walgreens to encourage people to get the vaccine with the “This Is Our Shot” campaign.

“The people that maybe didn’t believe in it, I think they will,” Báez told the Tribune. “And that’s what it’s all about.

“We want to be safe out there. We obviously want to end this pandemic. The smart thing to do right now is to get vaccinated.”

Hoyer wouldn’t discuss whether it could cause a rift in the clubhouse.

“I’ll leave that to those guys,” he said. “Those guys can talk about that. I don’t want to go in depth, but it’s a microcosm of what we see nationally.”

Asked if he might trade players who won’t get vaccinated to try to reach the 85% mark, Hoyer said that’s not going to happen.

“Being transparent about it, we’re not a player away from being 85%,” he said. “It’s just a disappointing thing that we will have anxieties and restrictions that others don’t.

“That few days we had (in April), scratching Kyle (Hendricks) before a start when he was congested and when (coaches) Chris Young and (Craig) Driver had it — going through all that, it was a pretty horrible feeling, a helpless feeling, and the fact we weren’t able to eliminate that is disappointing.

“Injuries can be avoidable, but sometimes they’re not. Your season can get derailed when you have injuries, and that’s part of this job, but I feel this is one that can be avoided and we’re not able to avoid it.”

Hoyer commended the players who did get the vaccinations.