Nathan Eovaldi, Rafael Devers, Xander Bogaerts, J.D. Martinez, and Matt Barnes will be representing the Red Sox in this year’s MLB All-Star Game, which was originally in Atlanta but was moved to Denver.
“Pretty cool,” Alex Cora stated. “One of the coolest days as a manager is to get everybody together, and first things first, to praise the team. We haven’t had too many meetings this year, and just to let them know how proud I am. We’ve got some deserving guys, other guys that didn’t make it. Just to let them know how good they’ve been. We’ve still got work to do but sometimes we got to take a step back and let them know
It was first announced days ago that the Red Sox’s left side of the infield, Rafael Devers and Xander Bogaerts, will start the All-Star Game. It was then announced in the midst of Sunday’s 1-0 win that Eovaldi, Martinez, and Barnes would be joining them.
The Red Sox have the most representatives in the MLB, with the Padres, Blue Jays, and Astros being runner-up with four, although Toronto does have the most starters, with three.
Bogaerts is having another career year, hitting .326 to go along with his 13 homers, 48 RBIs, 52 runs, .928 OPS, 148 wRC+, .396 wOBA, .374 xwOBA, and 3.7 fWAR in 79 appearances. He’ll be making his fourth All-Star appearance.
Devers is hitting .289 this season to go along with his 20 homers, 70 RBIs, 58 runs, .924 OPS, 145 wRC+, .391 wOBA, .399 xwOBA, and 3.2 fWAR in 81 appearances. He’ll be making his fourth All-Star appearance
Barnes has had a revitalized role with the club, as in his first season as the closer he has become a dominant force posting 18 saves along with a 2.75 ERA in 36 games. He’ll be making his first appearance.
“Barnesy, he has been in the organization for a lot of years. The fact that he’s now the closer and is doing his job is amazing,” Cora said.
Martinez has had a bounce-back year this season, after a forgettable 2020. He’s hitting .303 to go along with his 17 homers, 56 RBIs, 58 runs, .936 OPS, 145 wRC+, .389 wOBA, .369 xwOBA, and 2.3 fWAR in 77 games. He’ll be making his fourth appearance.
“J.D., a lot of people gave up on him last year,” said Cora about Martinez. “I told (reporters), I bet you guys one dollar that he was going to have a good season. You guys can send me the money to the clubhouse, whenever you guys can. He’s one of the best hitters in the big leagues and he’s a proud individual, too. He’s playing with a chip on his shoulder. He does. He really does.”
Eovaldi has been by far the best starting pitcher on the Red Sox this season, as through 17 starts he’s put up a 3.41 ERA to go along with his 2.55 FIP, 3.61 xFIP, and a 22.1 strikeout rate. He will be making his first appearance.
“For Nate, what can you say? You can ask Nick (Pivetta) what he means to our team, to our rotation, to everything that we do,” Cora remarked. “From competing every five days to his wife baking cakes every Sunday for us or baking cakes whenever there’s a birthday. He cares about everybody.”
(Photo of Rafael Devers/Maddie Meyer/Getty Iages)