Red Sox Postpone White House Visit Until May Due to Government Shutdown

The Boston Red Sox have reportedly postponed their planned visit to the White House due to the federal government shutdown.

According to Peter Abraham of the Boston Globe, the Red Sox were originally scheduled to visit the White House to celebrate their 2018 World Series win on Feb. 15 prior to the start of spring training, but they will reportedly instead do so in May.

The visit is expected to take place on May 6, 7 or 8 since that is when the Red Sox will be in Baltimore for a series with the Orioles.

Per Abraham, Red Sox team president Sam Kennedy said last week that the organization was "uncomfortable" with the thought of visiting the White House while government employees were working without pay.

While many players have publicly said that they will visit the White House to celebrate the World Series victory, others have suggested otherwise.

Abraham noted that third baseman Rafael Devers has said that he will not attend, and starting pitcher Eduardo Rodriguez said that he is unlikely to partake in the festivities.

It is also unclear if Red Sox manager Alex Cora will accompany the team to the White House since he was publicly critical of how President Donald Trump spoke about Hurricane Maria, which ravaged Cora's native Puerto Rico in 2017.

Boston enjoyed one of the best seasons in Major League Baseball history in 2018, as it went 108-54 en route to winning the American League East and then beat the Los Angeles Dodgers in five games in the World Series.

In 2019, the Red Sox will look to repeat with a team that remains largely unchanged from last season's dominant squad.