ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Another Rays player is headed to Seattle for this year's All-Star game!
Tampa Bay shortstop Wander Franco, who was surprisingly not initially named to the AL All-Star roster, was added to the team on Tuesday as an injury replacement. He will be filling the spot of New York Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge.
Franco now becomes the fourth Rays player to be named an All-Star this year alongside pitcher Shane McClanahan, outfield Randy Arozarena and first baseman Yandy Diaz. However, McClanahan was put on the 15-day injured list by Tampa Bay last week, a day after the 26-year-old left-hander came out of his second straight start due to mid-back tightness. His IL stint will run through the All-Star break and will be replaced by Seattle pitcher George Kirby.
It will be the first time Franco, Arozarena and Diaz play in the All-Star game, with the latter two chosen by fans and among the nine first-time starters, joined by Atlanta shortstop Orlando Arcia and catcher Sean Murphy, Miami second baseman Luis Arraez and Arizona outfielder Corbin Carroll.
Arozarena and Diaz will become the fourth and fifth positional players for the club to ever start at an All-Star Game joining Evan Longoria (2010), Carl Crawford (2010) and Corey Dickerson (2017).
Arozarena will also participate in the 2023 Home Run Derby, marking his first time in the Derby, and makes him the third Rays player to participate in one after Evan Longoria and Carlos Pena.
Franco, a first-time All-Star, was benched by the Rays for two games last month for his response to difficult situations, which he believed was connected to his originally missing out on the All-Star team.
“Well, at first thought it was probably because of the behavior that I thought was the reason why I didn’t make it but I kept my head up, and thank God I’m in it," he said.
Other players named to play in the All-Star game through injury replacements include Seattle center fielder Julio Rodríguez and Houston outfielder Kyle Tucker for the American League All-Star roster and Pittsburgh closer David Bednar was picked for the National League team.
Rodríguez replaced Houston outfielder Yordan Alvarez and Tucker, who played high school ball in Tampa for Plant High School, substituted for Los Angeles Angels center fielder Mike Trout.
Bednar replaced Los Angeles Dodgers left-hander Clayton Kershaw.
Rodríguez, Tucker and Bednar become two-time All-Stars, while Kirby was picked for the first time.
The big game is scheduled for July 11 game at Seattle's T-Mobile Park.
The Associated Press and 10 Tampa Bay's Jordan Highsmith contributed to this report.