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Texas Rangers pitcher Yu Darvish has been named to the 2017 American League All Star team, the fourth time in his career that Darvish has been an All Star. He also made the team in 2012, 2013 and 2014.
Darvish is the lone Ranger to be named to the team. The only other Ranger who appeared to be a legitimate candidate was shortstop Elvis Andrus, who has been one of the top players at his position this year. Carlos Correa was named the starter at the position, however, with Francisco Lindor the backup. Correa is the clear top choice at the position, and for the backup spot, Elvis, Lindor, Xander Bogaerts and Andrelton Simmons all had legitimate cases.
You can check out the rosters here.
The Rangers have an interesting decision to make on Yu. He is slated to start on Tuesday against Boston, which would mean that the Rangers could bring Yu back to start Sunday on regular rest (there’s an off day on Thursday, which means they would skip either Tyson Ross or Martin Perez in that scenario). Doing that used to mean that Yu wouldn’t be eligible to pitch in the All Star Game, although that rule has been changed now to where it is up to the team and pitcher to decide whether he will be eligible, and what sort of workload he will have.
The Rangers may prefer to give Yu the extra time off, keep Ross and Perez on their regular turns, and let Yu on Tuesday in the ASG before bringing him back the weekend the second half starts. I’m not sure if Yu has a preference, but if he really wants to pitch in the All Star Game, I’m curious whether the team would start him Sunday anyway.
UPDATE — Hey, good news! Elvis Andrus is one of the five finalists for the Final Fan Vote ballot. He’s vying with Didi Gregorius, Xander Bogaerts, Logan Morrison and Mike Moustakas for the final spot. Yankee and Boston fans will be voting for their guys, and the Royals are ballot stuffers, but still, Elvis has a chance...go vote for him!