Houston second baseman Jose Altuve, San Francisco Giants pitcher Carlos Rodón, St. Louis Cardinals third baseman Nolan Arenado and Miami Marlins second baseman Jazz Chisholm Jr will not play in Tuesday’s All-Star Game.
Altuve, an eight-time All-Star selected as a starter by fan voting, received a blow to the left knee ahead of Thursday’s game against the Los Angeles Angels. He was kept out of the lineup Friday night.
MLB announced on Saturday that Altuve will be replaced in the starting lineup by Cleveland’s Andrés Giménez, who makes his first appearance. Toronto’s Santiago Espinal will replace Altuve on the AL roster.
Dodgers-pitcher Tyler Anderson, who is 10-1 with a 2.96 ERA in 17 games with 81 strikeouts, will replace Rodón on the NL-roster, LA said in a press release. It was not immediately clear why Rodón is not playing in the All-Star Game; he was originally added to the roster on July 12 instead of Milwaukee closer Josh Hader.
Atlanta third baseman Austin Riley, who has 100 hits and a .913 OPS this season, replaces Arenado in the NL team.
Arenado, a seven-time All-Star, said on Saturday that he has had low back pain for three to four weeks, MRIs have found nothing and that he will be taking the All-Star break to rest.
“It’s been a problem lately. It didn’t make sense for me to do that,” said Arenado, who lives less than an hour from Los Angeles. “Probably it made more sense for me to go home, relax and just chill. Go home. Get treatment. Do some work. I have a few trainers. I have a physiotherapist at home, ready to go.’
Altuve said on Saturday about his knee that he “waited to see how it would react today and I think we can all agree we are making the best decision.” He also said, “I don’t think we’re going” when asked if he’d be going to LA, adding “we’re going to do a treatment and get ready for the second half.”
Pittsburgh’s Jake Cronenworth will replace Chisholm, who has been on the list injured since June 29 with a right lower back.
Miami manager Don Mattingly said of Chisholm that “everyone who is in the IL is in medical hands until they are not.”
“I’m sure he’s disappointed he can’t play. He’s earned that right to play,” said Mattingly, adding that Chisholm is “getting better and hopefully he’ll get a lot more of these (opportunities).” ‘.
Giménez, 23, who came to Cleveland last year as part of the trade that sent shortstop Francisco Lindor to the New York Mets, is having a standout season. He hits .299 with 10 home runs and 43 RBI’s in 78 games while playing a solid defense. He has also been a clutch, hitting .384 with runners in scoring position.
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AP Sports Writers Kristie Rieken in Houston and Tom Withers in Cleveland contributed to this report. Warren Mayes in St. Louis and Santos Perez in Miami also contributed to this report.
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