Mariners pair among All-Star injury replacements
NEW YORK — Seattle Mariners center fielder Julio Rodríguez and right-hander George Kirby, Tampa Bay Rays shortstop Wander Franco and Houston Astros outfielder Kyle Tucker were added to the American League All-Star roster on Tuesday as injury replacements and Pittsburgh Pirates closer David Bednar was picked for the National League team.
Rodríguez replaced Houston outfielder Yordan Alvarez, Kirby took over from Tampa Bay left-hander Shane McClanahan, Franco filled the spot of New York Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge and Tucker substituted for Los Angeles Angels center fielder Mike Trout.
Bednar replaced Los Angeles Dodgers left-hander Clayton Kershaw.
Rodríguez and Kirby join right-hander Luis Castillo, the only Mariners player initially selected for the July 11 game at Seattle’s T-Mobile Park.
Rodríguez, Tucker and Bednar become two-time All-Stars, while Kirby was picked for the first time.
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.