It’s only natural, even if annoying, to focus on the snubs rather than the players who actually made the All-Star rosters. That was the case on July 10 when full rosters were unveiled, with the Dodgers’ Freddie Freeman and Will Smith among those who did not make the cut.
There’s a method to the madness of how the sausage gets made, which often gets overlooked for the sake of outrage. But just like every year, some players bow out of the All-Star Game, some due to injuries, some because they pitched on the Sunday before the game, some perhaps because standing on the field and getting loudly booed at Dodger Stadium can be a drag.
This year was no exception, with 14 players getting added to All-Star rosters in the last week. Included among them was Tyler Anderson, the third Dodgers starting pitcher to join the National League for the midsummer classic, and first baseman Freddie Freeman, who was added on Sunday.
There were so many roster replacements, that I thought it might be instructive to list them all here, with an explanation where applicable of how each selection was made.
Every player added to MLB All-Star rosters
| League | Player added | Player out | How selected |
|---|---|---|---|
| League | Player added | Player out | How selected |
| NL | SP Carlos Ródon (SF) | LHP Josh Hader (Mil) | MLB pick |
| NL | DH Garrett Cooper (Mia) | DH Bryce Harper (Phi) | Next in player vote |
| NL | 3B Austin Riley (Atl) | 3B Nolan Arenado (StL) | Next in player vote |
| NL | SP Tyler Anderson (LA) | SP Carlos Ródon (SF) | MLB pick |
| NL | 2B Jake Cronenworth (SD) | 2B Jazz Chisholm Jr.* (Mia) | Next in player vote |
| NL | RHP Devin Williams (Mil) | SP Max Fried (Atl) | MLB pick |
| NL | SP Miles Mikolas (StL) | SP Corbin Burnes (Mil) | MLB pick |
| NL | 1B Freddie Freeman (LA) | OF Starling Marte (NYM) | MLB pick |
| AL | DH J.D. Martinez (Bos) | DH Yordan Alvarez (Hou) | Next in player vote |
| AL | SS Corey Seager (Tex) | OF George Springer (Tor) | MLB pick |
| AL | 2B Santiago Espinal (Tor) | 2B Jose Altuve* (Hou) | Next in player vote |
| AL | RHP Jordan Romano (Tor) | SP Justin Verlander (Hou) | MLB pick |
| AL | RHP Liam Hendriks (CWS) | SP Gerrit Cole (NYY) | MLB pick |
| AL | OF Ty France (Sea) | OF Mike Trout* (Ana) | MLB pick |
That makes for a total of 80 All-Stars, including 14 players added in the last week. There was even a replacement for a replacement, with Giants starter Carlos Ródon added to the NL roster on Tuesday, then replaced (by Anderson) on Saturday.
Mike Trout, Jose Altuve, and Jazz Chisholm Jr. getting replaced on the roster meant next in line in the players vote at their positions move into the starting lineup. That means Byron Buxton will start in the American League outfield, Andrés Giménez starts for the AL at second base, and Jeff McNeil will start at second base for the National League.
