Gleyber Torres named to American League All-Star team

One of the big talking points in Yankees circles this week was the snubbing of the budding superstar Gleyber Torres from this year’s All-Star festivities. The 22-year-old has a 138 OPS+ while playing both middle infield positions, emerging as a rock on a Yankees team dealing with so many injuries. After being left off the initial round of reserves, Torres will be in Cleveland next week, making the All-Star team as an injury replacement for the Rays’ Brandon Lowe.

It’s Torres’ second time named to the team, as he was on the squad last year in his excellent rookie season. This year, he’s been better in virtually every facet of the game, and takes a well-deserved slot on the American League team. Unfortunately, last year he missed the game itself due to injury, but with any luck, Yankees fans will see Torres suit up alongside Aroldis Chapman and starters Gary Sanchez and DJ LeMahieu.

This should also be some good news to Aaron Boone, who was extremely vocal over the past couple of days regarding how he felt his infielder was short-shifted by MLB in the All-Star selections. For his part, Torres had said everything right about his previous omission, but you knew it had to be sticking with him.

The importance of the All-Star Game varies greatly among fans, but it means a lot to the players selected and their teammates. It’s also become an important part of the arbitration process, and while Torres is still a couple of seasons away from that, this selection will only help him professionally on top of whatever personal satisfaction he gleans from being named among the game’s ostensible best.