All-Stars bail out, All-Stars are replaced
Part of showcase, Draft begins Sunday
DENVER — Philadelphia’s J.T. Realmuto will take over for injured San Francisco catcher Buster Posey as the National League’s starter in Tuesday’s AllStar Game at Coors Field.
St. Louis catcher Yadier Molina earned his 10th All-Star selection, among 10 replacements announced Saturday by Major League Baseball.
Molina was elected on the players’ ballot and filled the spot vacated when Posey was put on the injured list Friday, five days after his left thumb was bruised by a foul tip. Molina said later Saturday that he will also skip the All-Star Game to rest.
Major League Baseball also said Dodgers outfielder Mookie Betts was injured and won’t participate, though Betts played an entire nine innings Friday night.
Kansas City second baseman Whit Merrifield and Chicago White Sox shortstop Tim Anderson also earned selections from the players’ ballot, replacing Houston’s José Altuve and Carlos Correa.
Merrifield became a two-time All-Star. Anderson, the 2019 AL batting champion, earned his first All-Star trip.
New York Mets pitcher Jacob deGrom also said he was withdrawing from the All-Star Game, wanting to rest for the second half. DeGrom, who has a 1.08 ERA, was bothered in the first half by discomfort in his right lat, tightness in his right side and flexor tendinitis in his right arm.
The commissioner’s office picked Washington’s Max Scherzer,
the Los Angeles Dodgers’ Walker Buehler, the Mets’ Taijuan Walker and Milwaukee’s Freddy Peralta as additions to the NL pitching staff. Mets manager Luis Rojas and Brewers manager Craig Counsell had said Friday their pitchers would be added.
MLB also added Dodgers third baseman Justin Turner to the NL roster, and Oakland pitcher Chris Bassitt and Tampa Bay second baseman Joey Wendle to the AL roster.
Houston outfielder Michael Brantley and San Diego pitcher Yu Darvish are withdrawing because of injuries. Cleveland pitcher Shane Bieber, Los Angeles Angels outfielder Mike Trout and Washington outfielder Kyle Schwarber were previously ruled out because of injuries.
San Francisco’s Kevin Gausman and Milwaukee’s Brandon Woodruff remain active for the game but are scheduled for starts Sunday. Houston reliever Ryan Pressly will miss the game because of paternity leave.
Late Saturday, it was announced San Diego’s Manny Machado would replace Atlanta’s Ronald Acuña Jr., who suffered a season-ending knee injury Saturday afternoon in Miami.
CLUTCH SAVE: Willie Ross, a pediatrician and dad of major league pitchers Joe and Tyson Ross, performed the Heimlich maneuver on a choking fan during a game Saturday between the host San Francisco and Washington, dislodging bits of a hot dog to clear the woman’s airways. Ross was at the park to see Washington, for whom Joe Ross plays. Tyson Ross plays for Texas. “She was thankful, she was grateful, but she was also a little embarrassed because she is a nurse,” Willie Ross said.