Four Yankees players are All-Star selections

NEW YORK – This wasn’t the perfect setting for a pinstriped All-Star announcement, with the Yankees fresh off their 11th loss in 14 games.

In mostly subdued tones, following the Twins’ 11-4 win at Yankee Stadium, Cam Schlittler, Ben Rice and Cody Bellinger spoke with appreciation about being chosen to the AL squad.

The fans selected Aaron Judge (fractured first right rib) to his eighth All-Star team, though the injured Yankees captain will only be a spectator.

Bellinger and Rice were selected as reserves, though there’s a chance Bellinger could replace Judge as an outfield starter.

There’s a chance that Schlittler could start the July 14 All-Star Game at Philadelphia, but the 6-foot-7 right-hander played it down the middle regarding his participation.

“The team comes first, but if it lines up, it lines up,” said Schlittler. “If it doesn’t, that’s fine as well. Got a lot of innings so far.”

Bellinger, who turns 31 the day before the All-Star Game, is an All-Star for the first time since 2019, his NL MVP season with the Dodgers.

“It’s been a long time coming,” Bellinger said of making his third All-Star team, his first as an American Leaguer.

This will be Bellinger’s first All-Star appearance with his young family, and “to have them on the field, that’s what it’s all about. Just excited to go back and ultimately continue playing well.”

As first time All-Stars, the connection between Rice and Schlittler extends to their Massachusetts upbringing, both signed as under-the-radar draft picks by Yankees Northeast area scout Matt Hyde.

“I wouldn’t say it was ever that far-fetched in my mind,” Rice said of his personal views of being an All-Star, but it wasn’t necessarily a goal for the lefty-hitting first baseman and part-time DH.

In a Judge-less lineup, Rice has been the team’s first half MVP, though the Yankees – notably Rice and Bellinger – have stumbled during this stretch, where the Yanks have tumbled into second place.

Nevertheless, “it’s special…to share that (Massachusetts) connection,” Schlittler said of Rice, the Yanks’ leader in home runs (24) and OPS (.926). “He’s had a great season so far and he deserves that.”

In 18 starts, Schlittler leads the league in pitchers WAR (Baseball-Reference.com) and ERA (2.08), and Rice believes that if “he were to get that opportunity” to start on July 14, “I’m sure it would mean the world.”

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Four Yankees players are All-Star selections