Nestor Cortes was just over a month after his last major league game with the Yankees when the All-Star game was held last season, and happy to be on the list.
Jose Trevino was in minor league rehab with Texas and hit nothing. And Clay Holmes was still a struggling backup pitcher on a bad pirate team.
Now they’re all All-Stars with the Yankees, along with Gerrit Cole, who was also called up on Sunday, and starters Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton, and will be at Dodger Stadium on July 19th.
And while Cole, Judge and Stanton make the Yankees the Yankees: big stars, big contracts and big expectations. The reason they have the best record in the sport for more than half the season is due to the depth and talent of the rest of the roster.
The paths of the Bronx’s three first-time All-Stars are all unique, from Cortes, who was selected in the 36th round, Treviño, who was unsuccessful with the Rangers, to Holmes, who went from being a disappointing right-hander with the Pirates to dominating closer with the Yankees.
Cortes might be the most unlikely story of all, with the left-hander who was picked by the Yankees in the 2013 draft prior to last season to the Orioles and Mariners and back to the Yankees as a minor league free agent when he proved to be a reliable lefty.
Boone and Cortés realized they were talking in Corté’s locker in Tampa this spring when Boone told him he was going to the All-Star Game.
Cortes said he was skeptical at the time.
When asked when he would consider making the All-Star team, Cortes said, “Probably never.”
Trevino also came almost out of nowhere. The Yankees acquired him after selling Gary Sanchez to Minnesota that spring, and he was seen as someone who could share time behind the plate with Kyle Higashioka.
But his shooting frame and skill and an unexpected amount of production forced the Yankees to play him more offensively.
The same goes for Holmes, who used his sinker so effectively that after being almost unbeatable a year ago, he’s gotten even better this season.
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