ARLINGTON — Watching the All-Star Game at home this year takes on a whole different meaning.
For Kirby Yates, this is the culmination of a great comeback story. For Marcus Semien, this is a testament to his reputation for hard work and effort. Both will be introduced as All-Stars in front of a home crowd at Globe Life Field on July 16.
But to Josh Smith, it still means the same thing: being ignored.
The Rangers, the defending champions who will host the All-Star Game for the first time in 90 years, have selected two players for manager Bruce Bochy’s American League team, MLB announced Sunday night. Semien, last year’s starter at second base, will back up Jose Altuve. Yates, who is returning from a three-year elbow injury, is one of four relief pitchers. Both were selected by their peers in a player vote.
Smith, who was the Rangers’ best player this season, is nowhere to be found. Perhaps he fell victim to the numbers and MLB’s rule that every team must have one All-Star. Smith may still make the team, but it’s a complicated and convoluted path. More on that later. In the meantime, here are some players who will definitely make the team:
“It’s the happiest moment of the game being able to deliver the good news,” said Boetsch, who will be coaching for the fifth time in the game. “I’m really pleased that both of them were selected. Kirby has been just about perfect for us. We’re not where we want to be yet, but I hate to think what it would have been like without him. It was really good to be able to tell him, especially with the journey the last five years. It just shows his dedication and tenacity.”
It’s been a remarkable comeback year for the 37-year-old Yates, who was named to the National League All-Star team in 2019 before battling elbow injuries for the past three years. Yates injured his elbow in 2020, had ligament reconstruction surgery the following spring and didn’t pitch in the major leagues again until August 2022. A month later, he was sidelined with recurrent elbow inflammation.
He signed a one-year contract with the Rangers in December to give the team a late-inning relief option, took over as the closer two weeks into the season and, in Bouchi’s words, has essentially been perfect.
Heavily reliant on his devastating forkball, he entered the day as the only AL reliever ranked in the top 10 in relief ERA (0.86, 2nd), relief WHIP (0.86, 8th) and relief strikeout rate (35.8%, 6th). Additionally, he has converted 13 of 13 save opportunities and is the only reliever with no blown saves with six or more chances. He has not allowed a home run in 31.1 innings, tying him for the most innings without a home run among AL relievers this season.
“I’m excited and I’m very proud of myself,” Yates said. “My goal was to get myself back to the level I belong. It’s been a weird last five years. If you’d asked me in March or April of 2023 if I thought I’d be back to this level, I would have said probably not. It’s been a lot of hard work over the last five years.”
Yates may pitch this time. In 2019, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts named him the National League closer, which Yates said was a sign of true “respect.” But he didn’t pitch because the National League failed to take a lead late in games. This time, there will be a dedicated manager in the dugout, and Boetsch will likely prioritize pitching over naming him the closer. The American League has three other relief pitchers: Cleveland’s Emmanuel Klass, Oakland’s Mason Miller, and New York Yankees’ Clay Holmes. All three have 14 or more saves.
The players selected three relief pitchers, with Yates winning a tough battle for third place behind Claas and Miller, who were both far ahead of the others. With every team having at least one relief pitcher on the roster, there was an opening, so MLB added Holmes, who had likely placed fourth in the player voting.
This will be Semien’s third All-Star Game appearance and his second consecutive with the Rangers.
Player voting took place from June 27 to 30. Semien has been in a serious slump since mid-June. He was 7-for-72 (.097) in 17 games with no home runs, but his home run in the bottom of the seventh inning gave the Rangers the lead. He was 0-for-4 with one walk on Sunday, giving him a batting average of .101/.165/.173/.339 over the past three weeks. That brings his season OPS to .673. The only Rangers All-Star with a lower OPS was infielder Bert Campaneris, who stopped at .670 in 1977.
But second base is a weak position in the AL. Only four players have played at least 70 games at second base. Semien ranks second among those four in WAR, according to Fangraphs, but that’s mostly because he’s played so many games and has consistently been an above-average defensive player.
“It’s always an honor to be selected to the All-Star team,” Semien said. “I felt like I was lightened at the position this year, so I just work hard every day.”
When asked if he felt like an All-Star this year in light of his career numbers, Semien chose not to look back.
“I’m excited to be on the All-Star team,” he said. “Even if nobody thinks I should be there, I’m going to be there. I don’t know what else to do.”
But Smith will remain at home unless something changes, such as an infielder stepping down. He was on the ballot for third base as a replacement for Josh Jan for much of the first half of the year. The position is deep. He played very well, but his OPS (.802) was seventh at third base among players with at least 100 plate appearances. Starter Jose Ramirez and the two selected reserves started Sunday with higher OPS numbers at the position.
“Obviously it’s disappointing,” Smith said, “but I’m happy our guys made it through.”
Is he expecting to join later? Not really.
“I don’t know if I want to be an alternate,” he said.
He’ll want to go home soon.
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