Mike Trout and Shohei Ohtani of the Los Angeles Angels were elected Friday to start in the July 19 All-Star Game along with Mookie Betts and Trea Turner of the host Dodgers and Rafael Devers of the Red Sox.
Toronto catcher Alejandro Kirk and Miami second baseman Jazz Chisholm Jr. were voted to start as first-time All-Stars, finishing atop their positions in the second round of fan voting.
Aaron Judge of the New York Yankees and Ronald Acuna Jr. of the World Series champion Atlanta Braves were elected from the first round of balloting as the top vote-getters in their leagues.
The AL starting lineup includes Blue Jays first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Houston second baseman Jose Altuve, Chicago White Sox shortstop Tim Anderson, Devers at third base and Kirk behind the plate. Giancarlo Stanton of the Yankees joined Judge and Trout in the outfield, while Ohtani was voted in as designated hitter.
Ohtani became the first two-way All-Star last year when he was voted the AL DH, then was picked for the pitching staff and started on the mound.
Judge and Stanton will become the first Yankees teammates to start in the outfield together since Dave Winfield and Rickey Henderson in 1988.
NL starters include Chicago Cubs catcher Willson Contreras, St. Louis first baseman Paul Goldschmidt, Chisholm at second, Turner at shortstop, San Diego third baseman Manny Machado and an outfield of Betts, Acuna and San Francisco’s Joc Pederson.
Philadelphia’s Bryce Harper was elected as the National League’s first DH following the expansion of the DH rule to both leagues but will be replaced in the starting lineup after breaking his left thumb when hit by a pitch from San Diego’s Blake Snell on June 25. Harper earned his seventh All-Star selection, his sixth as a starter.
Trout was picked for the 10th time, his ninth as a starter. Altuve and Goldschmidt earned their eighth All-Star trips and Stanton was picked for the fifth time, but the first since Miami traded him to the Yankees ahead of the 2018 season.
In addition to Chisholm and Kirk, Anderson, Peterson and Turner were elected for their first All-Star starts.
Stanton beat Toronto’s George Springer 22% to 20% for the final AL outfield spot after finishing fourth, just behind Springer, in the opening round. Ohtani defeated Houston’s Yordan Alvarez 52% to 48% at DH.
Machado edged the Cardinals’ Nolan Arenado 51% to 49% at NL third base, and Turner beat out Atlanta’s Dansby Swanson 52% to 48%.
Chisholm got 59% of the NL second base vote after finishing second to the Braves’ Ozzie Albies in the first round. Devers received 60% at third base in the AL after finishing second to Cleveland’s Jose Ramirez in the opening round.
Goldschmidt earned a $250,000 bonus for his selection, Altuve, Harper, Stanton and Trout get $50,000 each, and Anderson receives $25,000.
Pitchers and reserves will be announced Sunday.
Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred added a 33rd player to each roster Friday, selecting Albert Pujols of St. Louis and Miguel Cabrera of Detroit for career achievements.
INTERNATIONAL DRAFT: Major League Baseball players said for the first time that they are prepared to accept a draft of international amateur players but proposed it include far more money than management’s plan and a more liberal structure.
The union made its proposal Friday during a meeting with MLB. Details were disclosed by a union official who spoke with media on the condition of anonymity because no announcements by name were authorized.
The union proposed that a draft be allocated $260 million for the 2024 signing period, with teams having to guarantee slot values while having the flexibility to exceed them within bonus pools.
MLB proposed last July 28 that a 2024 draft include spending of $181 million for the top 600 players and $190 million in total, up from $166 million in the 2021 signing period. MLB’s proposal contained hard slots, which for 2024 would assign $5,512,500 for the top pick to $2,625,000 for the 10th overall.
The March 10 agreement that ended the 99-day lockout set a July 25 deadline for the union to agree to the draft. Without an agreement, direct draft-pick compensation and the qualifying offer system would remain for major league free agents. That structure has inhibited the market for some players, such as pitchers Dallas Keuchel and Craig Kimbrel in 2019.
The union maintains MLB’s international proposal could be considered discriminatory because it would treat those players less favorably than the amateur draft treats U.S. and Canadian residents. The union’s plan attempts to address its concern about reduced player opportunities and for education access, and to combat corruption.
Management has long sought an international draft to mirror the amateur draft that began in 1965 for residents of the U.S. and Canada and allows teams exclusive rights to players. Since 1990, the draft has included residents of U.S. territories such as Puerto Rico.
The union said it would agree to management’s 20-round concept but would spread the money differently among the slots. Players would schedule the 2024 draft for late in 2023, while MLB proposed it be held in the January-to-March range.
PADRES: San Diego left fielder Jurickson Profar was placed on the seven-day concussion injured list, a day after he collapsed while trying to walk off the field following a scary collision with shortstop C.J. Abrams.
Profar was eventually placed on a stretcher and then taken off the field on a cart and to a hospital following the collision in the fifth inning of Thursday night’s game against San Francisco. He was also diagnosed with a strained neck before being discharged from the hospital overnight.
Manager Bob Melvin said Profar is doing “remarkably well. Obviously it was pretty severe in nature. There’s no fractures, no broken anything anywhere. He’s sore, obviously. I think we really caught a break in that it was nothing worse than that.”
RAYS: The Tampa Bay Rays say the latest lawsuit filed by a group of limited partners who accuse Stuart Sternberg of wrongfully taking control of the team is a continuation of a “meritless and relentless campaign” against the club and its principal owner.
“They have deployed multiple baseless lawsuits premised on allegations they know are untrue in order to pressure the team and Stuart Sternberg to purchase their interests – which is a right they do not have,” the team said in a statement.
The lawsuit filed in Pinellas-Pasco Circuit Court on June 27 alleges Sternberg transferred legal ownership to a company he owns without the consent of five limited partners, who together own less than 10% of the team.
Similar suits were filed by the limited partners in May 2021 and February 2022.
“Ultimately, what compels us to respond is the fact that the latest complaint contains numerous allegations that the plaintiffs know are false. These intentionally false claims are designed to harm the Rays organization at a time when we are actively engaged in efforts to build a new ballpark in Tampa Bay,” the statement said.
“The allegation that a simple and commonplace corporate reorganization stripped the limited partners of the value of their investments and their rights and protections is patently false, and the limited partners know that,” the Rays added. “The reorganization was approved by Major League Baseball and the team’s lenders, among others. It had no impact on any aspect of the limited partners’ ownership interests or partnership rights.
PIRATES: Pittsburgh acquired right-hander Yohan Ramirez from the Cleveland Guardians for cash and optioned him to Triple-A Indianapolis.
Ramirez, 27, has appeared in eight games this season with the Seattle Mariners and Guardians. He is 1-0 with a 6.97 ERA with 11 strikeouts in 10 1/3 innings.
FRIDAY’S GAMES
REDS 2, RAYS 1: Mark Kolozsvary scored on a game-ending balk by Matt Wisler in the 10th inning, lifting Cincinnati to a win at home.
Kolozsvary opened the 10th on second as a pinch-runner for Mike Moustakas. He advanced on Nick Senzel’s sacrifice bunt against Wisler (2-3). Albert Almora Jr. walked before Wisler’s balk with pinch-hitter Tyler Naquin at the plate.
It was the majors’ first game-ending balk since Dylan Floro for the Dodgers in a 5-4 loss at Seattle on Aug. 18, 2018. It was the first such loss for the Rays in franchise history.
ORIOLES 5, ANGELS 4: Trey Mancini hit a game-winning single in a three-run ninth inning, and Baltimore extended its season-high winning streak to six games with a victory over visiting Los Angeles.
Mike Trout and Shohei Ohtani both homered on the night they earned All-Star selections, with Ohtani’s 19th of the season giving the Angels a 4-2 lead in the ninth.
But Raisel Iglesias (2-5) allowed a two-out RBI double to Adley Rutschman that cut the lead to 4-3. Cedric Mullins then tied the game with a run-scoring single and took second on the throw home.
ROYALS 4, GUARDIANS 3: Michael A. Taylor hit a game-ending RBI single, and Kansas City won at home.
Vinnie Pasquantino opened the Kansas City ninth with a double to right against Sam Hentges (2-1) that nearly cleared the fence. Edward Olivares then entered the game as a pinch-runner.
After Kyle Isbel struck out on a foul bunt, Taylor poked a 1-2 pitch into right for the winning hit.
Cleveland led 3-1 after seven innings, but Whit Merrifield hit a tying two-run homer in the eighth against Eli Morgan. It was just his second homer in 42 games.
MARLINS 5, METS 2: Garrett Cooper hit a two-run homer off the right-field foul pole and Bryan De La Cruz doubled three times as Miami won at New York for its seventh win in nine games.
Pablo López (6-4) allowed one run and four hits in five inning for the Marlins, who had lost two straight after a six-game winning streak.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
Success. Please wait for the page to reload. If the page does not reload within 5 seconds, please refresh the page.
Enter your email and password to access comments.
Hi, to comment on stories you must . This profile is in addition to your subscription and website login.
Already have a commenting profile? .
Invalid username/password.
Please check your email to confirm and complete your registration.
Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.
Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.