Could the Yankees Have No Players Appear in the All-Star Game?
Despite a rough stretch in which some fans have questioned the team’s relative lack of transactions in the off-season, the Yankees have had a fairly good year. They are eight games above .500; through Monday, they were in line for a wild-card spot in the postseason. If a few injured players come back strong, the Yankees will be considered a serious playoff contender.
That said, the confluence of a down year for a few stars and the aforementioned injuries could lead to an occurrence that is almost impossible to imagine: The All-Star Game box score this season may not include a Yankees player.
There will be some Yankees at the game, of course. Every team is guaranteed at least one player on the All-Star roster, and the Yankees most likely will have at least two. Aaron Judge, the team’s otherworldly outfielder, will probably be elected as a starter despite being out indefinitely with a toe injury. And it is a safe bet that pitcher Gerrit Cole, the team’s ace, will be named to the team as well.
Cole, who is 8-1 with a 2.78 E.R.A., is the team’s best option to get into the game. The Yankees’ rotation currently lines up for him to enter the break with sufficient rest, and he should be among the top options to start for the American League. But rest is a tricky thing with starting pitchers. If Cole is not able to get enough rest days before the game, or if the A.L. manager, Dusty Baker of the Houston Astros, chooses to hold him in reserve, he may spend the entire game watching.
Source: The New York Times
