The announcement of the Major League Baseball All-Star Game rosters is not a pleasant experience for everyone.
A handful of batters and pitchers from the American and National League built up great cases to head to Texas but were snubbed from the original rosters.
In the case of some top performers, not all players from the top teams can make it to the Midsummer Classic. Every team is required to have one representative and that plays a role in the roster building.
Some of the snubs may still get a call over the next week to join the All-Star Game. Mookie Betts and Kyle Tucker were named All-Stars in their respective leagues, but they are both on the injured list.
Snubbed pitchers have a chance to make it to Texas as well depending on how many alterations have to be made based on when the All-Star starting pitchers pitch their last game prior to the All-Star Game.
The full All-Star Game rosters can be found here on MLB.com.
Luis Gil
Luis Gil had one of the most surprising starts to the MLB season.
Gil was the breakout star of the injury-riddled New York Yankees rotation and seemed to be a lock to make the All-Star team a month ago.
Instead, he is currently on the outside looking in ahead of his Sunday night start against the Boston Red Sox.
Gil is one of three players with nine or more wins to be left off the American League roster. Baltimore's Grayson Rodriguez and his Yankees teammate Carlos Rodon are the others.
Gil's performance dropped over his last three starts with 16 earned runs allowed. He allowed 18 earned runs in his previous 14 appearances.
The strong outings through the first two-and-a-half months of the regular season should have been enough to get Gil on the roster.
Gil's teammate, Clay Holmes, experienced a rough stretch since mid-June, but he was still awarded with an All-Star roster spot.
Aaron Nola
Not every Philadelphia Phillies pitcher could make the National League roster.
Aaron Nola was the odd man out from the Phillies' tremendous staff that sent Zack Wheeler, Ranger Suarez, Jeff Hoffman and Matt Strahm to Texas.
Nola is one of three NL pitchers with a double-digit win total. Suarez and Chris Sale are the others and both were named to the All-Star team.
The Phillies right-hander also ranks in the top 10 in the NL in strikeouts and batting average against.
Wheeler, Suarez, Reynaldo Lopez, Chris Sale, Shota Imanaga, Paul Skenes, Logan Webb and Tyler Glasnow were all deserving of roster spots.
Unfortunately for Nola, all of those players also made strong cases to make the All-Star roster and he had to be the one left out.
Anthony Santander
Anthony Santander has the most home runs of any player not on the All-Star rosters.
The Baltimore Orioles outfielder has 23 home runs, 39 extra-base hits and a .806 OPS this season.
Santander lost out to Jarren Duran, Riley Greene and Kyle Tucker on the initial roster.
The good news for Santander is that he should be a top candidate to be Tucker's injury replacement on the AL roster.
Santander seems to be the best possible replacement for the Houston Astros outfielder, but it is still disappointing for him to not be included in the initial AL squad.
Christian Walker
Christian Walker has the most home runs of any National League player not on the All-Star roster.
The Arizona Diamondbacks first baseman has hit one fewer long ball than Santander and he is recently off an incredible run at Dodger Stadium in which he hit five home runs in three games.
Walker lost out at first base to Bryce Harper, who made the All-Star Game for the first time at first base in 2024, and perennial All-Star Freddie Freeman.
Harper is currently on the injured list, but he could be activated this week, which would mean Walker does not have a path to the roster, like Santander.
The NL will have to fill Mookie Betts' spot, and with two other shortstops on the roster, Walker could be picked as the replacement in the infield.
Francisco Lindor
Francisco Lindor should also be included in the discussion to replace Betts on the NL roster.
Lindor is tied with Elly De La Cruz for the most home runs by any NL shortstop and he ranks in the top five at his position in batting average, hits and RBIs.
A case could be made to have Lindor on the roster over C.J. Abrams, but he was brought on due to an increase in power and as Washington's sole representative.
De La Cruz was always going to be on the NL roster because of his base stealing and overall star power.
Lindor has one more home run than Abrams, but the Nationals shortstop is hitting 32 points better in average and is second to only Betts in OPS among NL players at the position.
Without a Washington pitcher, like Jake Irvin or Kyle Finnegan on the roster, Abrams was the best choice to represent the Nationals and it probably came at Lindor's expense.
Brent Rooker
The Oakland Athletics deserved to have Brent Rooker join Mason Miller in Texas.
Miller, the phenom closer, was a lock to make the All-Star Game since April, and because of Oakland's placement in the standings, it could be hard to justify adding another As player.
Rooker ranks in the top 10 in the AL in home runs and OPS and sits in the top 20 in batting average.
Other teams across the league are aware of his talents because he is likely to be one of the most talked about outfielders at the MLB trade deadline.
He can make a case to be Tucker's replacement in the AL outfield as well, but fellow snub Santander is a tough competitor for that spot, if it comes down to the two sluggers.
Read 74 Comments
Download the app for comments Get the B/R app to join the conversation