Yankees send MLB-high six players to Midsummer Classic; Braves have NL-best five; Astros also send five; Blue Jays, Cardinals, Dodgers & Mets sending four to LA; Ohtani selected as both position player and pitcher for second straight season; 21-year-old rookie OF Rodríguez youngest All-Star, among 30 first-timers; nine countries and territories represented among 28 internationally-born All-Stars; nearly 60% of All-Stars have diverse backgrounds, including over 75% of AL squad

Pitchers and reserves have been named to the American League and National League All-Star Teams, as announced today by Major League Baseball and the Major League Baseball Players Association. The 2022 AL and NL All-Star rosters were unveiled earlier this evening during the “2022 Chevrolet MLB All-Star Selection Show” on ESPN.

In addition to the starters who were elected by the fans, pitchers and reserve players were named to the All-Star Game roster by the Player Ballot – a vote of the players, managers and coaches – and by Major League Baseball. In making the selections, MLB has ensured that each of the 30 Major League Clubs will be represented at the All-Star Game.

American League position players who are invited to the 2022 All-Star Game presented by Mastercard as a result of Player Balloting are catcher Jose Trevino of the New York Yankees; first baseman Luis Arraez of the Minnesota Twins; second baseman Andrés Giménez of the Cleveland Guardians; shortstop Xander Bogaerts of the Boston Red Sox; third baseman José Ramírez of the Guardians; outfielders Byron Buxton of the Minnesota Twins, Kyle Tucker of the Houston Astros and George Springer of the Toronto Blue Jays; and designated hitter Yordan Alvarez of the Astros.

AL pitchers who have made the Midsummer Classic as a result of the Player Ballot include starters Shane McClanahan of the Tampa Bay Rays; Justin Verlander of the Astros; Alek Manoah of the Blue Jays; and Nestor Cortes and Gerrit Cole of the Yankees. The relievers who are All-Stars via the Player Ballot are Clay Holmes of the Yankees; Emmanuel Clase of the Guardians; and Jorge López of the Baltimore Orioles.

MLB had an additional six selections to fill out the remainder of the AL roster, with five of the six picks being used to represent the Clubs that did not have an All-Star after the fan and player balloting processes. The four pitchers chosen include Paul Blackburn of the Oakland Athletics; Shohei Ohtani of the Los Angeles Angels, who was already on the roster as the fan-elected designated hitter; Martín Pérez of the Texas Rangers; and Gregory Soto of the Detroit Tigers. Since Ohtani was already on the AL roster and will now once again be rostered as a two-way player, MLB made an additional selection at pitcher and named Framber Valdez of the Houston Astros. The two position players among MLB selections are Andrew Benintendi of the Kansas City Royals and rookie Julio Rodríguez of the Seattle Mariners.

National League position players who are invited to the 92nd Midsummer Classic as a result of Player Balloting are catcher Travis d’Arnaud of the Atlanta Braves; first baseman Pete Alonso of the New York Mets; second baseman Jeff McNeil of the Mets; shortstop Dansby Swanson of the Braves; third baseman Nolan Arenado of the St. Louis Cardinals; outfielders Kyle Schwarber of the Philadelphia Phillies, Starling Marte of the Mets and Ian Happ of the Chicago Cubs; and designated hitter William Contreras of the Braves.

NL pitchers who have made the 2022 All-Star Game presented by Mastercard as a result of the Player Ballot include starters Sandy Alcantara of the Miami Marlins; Corbin Burnes of the Milwaukee Brewers; Joe Musgrove of the San Diego Padres; Max Fried of the Braves; and Tony Gonsolin of the host Los Angeles Dodgers. The relievers who are All-Stars via the Player Ballot are Josh Hader of the Brewers; Edwin Díaz of the Mets; and Ryan Helsley of the Cardinals.

MLB had six selections to fill out the remainder of the NL roster, including for five teams yet to have an All-Star elected by the fans or players. The four pitchers selected include David Bednar of the Pittsburgh Pirates; Luis Castillo of the Cincinnati Reds; Clayton Kershaw of the Dodgers; and Joe Mantiply of the Arizona Diamondbacks. The two position players selected are C.J. Cron of the Colorado Rockies and Juan Soto of the Washington Nationals. 

Harper, who will be inactive at the Midsummer Classic, will be replaced in the NL’s starting lineup by the player-elected Contreras of the Braves. Contreras will join his brother, Willson, among the NL starters, and the duo will become the first brothers to appear in the same All-Star Game since Aaron and Bret Boone in 2003, and the first brothers on the same team in the Midsummer Classic since the Alomar brothers – Roberto and Sandy Jr. – in 1998. In addition, the Contreras brothers will become the first to start alongside one another in the Midsummer Classic since the Alomars in 1992. Harper’s roster replacement will be announced in the coming days.

As announced on Friday by MLB, legendary hitters Albert Pujols of the Cardinals and Miguel Cabrera of the Tigers will also be active members of the All-Star rosters at the 2022 Midsummer Classic.

The Yankees, who entered play today with the best record in the Majors at 61-24, will send a Major League-high six players to Los Angeles, while the reigning World Series Champion Braves send an NL-high five players. The Astros will also send five players to the Midsummer Classic, while the Blue Jays, Cardinals, Dodgers and Mets all have four players headed to the All-Star Game. For the Yankees, it marks the first that they are sending at least six players to the Midsummer Classic since they had eight All-Stars at the 2011 Midsummer Classic in Arizona. Similarly, Atlanta is sending at least five players to the Midsummer Classic for the first time since the same Midsummer Classic in 2011 at Chase Field.

Additionally, the Astros have at least four All-Stars for the fifth consecutive time; the Dodgers will have at least three All-Stars for an eighth straight time, dating back to 2014; the Mets are sending four players to the Midsummer Classic for the first time since 2016; the Cardinals have four All-Star for the first time since sending six players in 2015; the Marlins and the Tigers have multiple All-Stars for the first time since 2017; and the Blue Jays have at least four All-Stars in consecutive years for the first time since 1993 (seven) and 1994 (four).

There are 28 internationally-born players on the All-Star rosters (42.4%), including 18 on the AL roster and 10 on the NL roster. The list features players from the Dominican Republic (11), Venezuela (8), Cuba (2), Puerto Rico (2), Aruba (1), the Bahamas (1), Canada (1), Japan (1) and Mexico (1). Miami’s Jazz Chisholm Jr., a native of Nassau, Bahamas, is the first-ever player born in the Bahamas to make an All-Star team. Additionally, 39 of the current 66 All-Stars (59.1%) come from diverse backgrounds, including 25 of the 33 AL All-Stars (75.8%).

Seattle’s Rodríguez, a native of Loma de Cabrera, D.R., is the lone rookie on the All-Star rosters. Rodríguez becomes the fifth Mariners rookie (fourth position player) in franchise history to earn an All-Star berth, joining Ruppert Jones (1977), Matt Young (1983), Alvin Davis (1984) and Ichiro Suzuki (2001). The 21-year-old Rodríguez is the youngest player on the All-Star rosters, while Washington’s Soto, who also hails from the Dominican Republic, is the youngest player on the NL squad at 23 years old. Rodríguez and Soto are two of the 10 players age 24-or-younger on the All-Star rosters, joined by 23-year-olds Giménez, Vladimir Guerrero Jr., and Alejandro Kirk; and 24-year-olds Ronald Acuña Jr., Chisholm Jr., Clase, William Contreras and Manoah.

Rodríguez is also part of a group of 30 All-Stars (18 AL, 12 NL) making their first trip to the Midsummer Classic. With 30 first-timers already on rosters, it will mark the fourth consecutive All-Star Game with at least 30 players making their debut on an All-Star roster. In addition, at least 30 players have now been first time All-Stars in eight of the last nine, and 10 of the last 12 installments of the Midsummer Classic.

Trout was named to the Midsummer Classic for a ninth consecutive time, and he is followed by Arenado of the Cardinals (seventh straight) and Mookie Betts of the Dodgers (sixth straight). Cabrera is the senior-most All-Star with 12 career selections, followed by Pujols (11), Trout (10), Kershaw (9), Verlander (9) and Jose Altuve (8).

Fans will once again have the opportunity to participate in the official voting for the Ted Williams All-Star Game Most Valuable Player Award presented by Chevrolet. During the Midsummer Classic, fans can vote exclusively at MLB.com and the 30 Club sites – online or via their mobile devices – with the 2022 All-Star Game MLB.com MVP Vote, and their collective voice will represent 20 percent of the official vote determining this year’s recipient of the Arch Ward Trophy.

The 92nd Midsummer Classic will be televised nationally by FOX Sports; in Canada by Rogers Sportsnet and RDS; and worldwide by partners in more than 180 countries. FOX Deportes will provide Spanish language coverage in the United States. ESPN Radio will provide exclusive national radio coverage of the All-Star Game, while Univision will provide Spanish language coverage on radio. MLB Network, MLB.com and SiriusXM also will provide comprehensive All-Star Week coverage. For more information about MLB All-Star Week, including ticket information and updates, please visit www.allstargame.com and follow @MLB and @AllStarGame on social media.

COURTESY MLBpressbox.com