NEW YORK — The Yankees’ clubhouse had little to celebrate Saturday night. The Twins had just hammered them 11-4 at Yankee Stadium, an eighth loss in nine games that dropped the club into second place in the AL East.
Then the All-Star rosters landed, and the room found four reasons to smile.
Aaron Judge, Cody Bellinger, Cam Schlittler and Ben Rice were all named American League All-Stars, giving the Yankees four representatives for the July 14 game at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia.
The names tell a story about how this Yankees season has actually gone. The franchise’s established stars are hurt or scuffling, and the players carrying the club to Philadelphia are the ones almost nobody projected.
Three of the four are earning their first All-Star nods in pinstripes. Schlittler and Rice are first-time All-Stars, Schlittler via the players’ ballot and Rice as a selection by the commissioner’s office, while Bellinger, elected by the players, makes his third trip but his first since 2019 and his first as a Yankee. Judge was voted in as a starting outfielder by the fans but will not play because of his fractured right rib.
Two Massachusetts kids and the scout who found them
The two first-timers share more than a locker room. Schlittler grew up in the Boston area and was a seventh-round pick out of Northeastern. Rice, from Cohasset, Massachusetts, was a 12th-round pick out of Dartmouth whose college career was interrupted by the pandemic. Both were signed as under-the-radar selections by the same Yankees Northeast area scout, Matt Hyde.
Five years later, the pair from Red Sox country will represent the Yankees together in Philadelphia. Schlittler made clear the shared roots make the honor sweeter.
“It’s special. [Both of us] being from Massachusetts, that’s a great feeling. Being able to share that connection with him,” Schlittler said. “[Rice has] had a great season so far and he deserves it.”
Rice, the Yankees’ home run leader, kept his own reaction understated.
“I’m excited about it. I can’t wait to enjoy the weekend,” Rice said. “I didn’t necessarily come into the season saying, ‘I really want to be on the All-Star team.’ If you do your best every day and stick to your process and the results follow, maybe you get the chance.”
The numbers that made the case
Rice enters Sunday hitting .267 with a .362 on-base percentage and a .564 slugging mark. His .926 OPS, 24 home runs and 154 wRC+ all rank fourth in the American League, and his 56 RBIs rank ninth. With Judge and Giancarlo Stanton sidelined, the 27-year-old has carried the middle of the Yankees lineup for most of the first half.
Schlittler’s case is even louder. The second-year right-hander leads AL starters with a 2.08 ERA, ranks second in FIP at 2.69, is tied for second with 123 strikeouts, sits third with 10.64 strikeouts per nine innings and fourth with 1.82 walks per nine. His 1.62 ERA through his first 17 starts was the second-best mark by any Yankees pitcher since earned runs became official in 1913, trailing only Ray Caldwell in 1914.
There is a real chance the Yankees ace starts the game for the AL, though he deflected the question with the Yankees’ workload in mind.
“We’ll see. The team comes first. They are a priority,” Schlittler said. “If it lines up, it lines up. If it doesn’t, that’s fine as well.”
Cody Bellinger built his selection on two-way value, entering Saturday with an MLB-best 17 defensive runs saved to go with 11 home runs and 49 RBIs. The 30-year-old, who turns 31 the day before the game, could even replace Judge in the starting outfield.
Bellinger’s long road back to the Midsummer Classic
Bellinger’s last All-Star appearance came in 2019, the year he won NL MVP with the Dodgers. A non-tender, a salary-dump trade and a career rebuild later, he returns in the first season of his five-year Yankees contract, and this time the trip is a family affair.
“It’s been a while. It’s been a long time coming. It’s the first one with the family, so I’m very excited to be there,” Bellinger said. “Last time, I didn’t have any kids, family or anything. I’m excited to have them on the field. That’s what it’s all about.”
For Judge, the honor cuts both ways. The captain earned his eighth career All-Star selection and sixth straight fan-elected start, joining Mike Trout and Byron Buxton in the voted-in outfield, and he became just the second player in Yankees history with at least eight fan selections, trailing only Derek Jeter‘s nine.
He will watch from home. Judge has been out of the Yankees lineup since June 5 with a stress fracture in his first right rib, suffered on an April diving catch he played through for more than a month, and one national report pegged him as at least six weeks from returning.
A pause before the grind resumes
The announcement landed in a mostly subdued clubhouse, hours after another lopsided loss. Aaron Boone framed the selections as a needed moment of perspective for a Yankees team buried in its worst stretch of the season.
“We’re in the throes of the season. We’re grinding in the middle of the summer here,” Boone said. “It’s like, pause and honor the people that are going and recognize what a big deal it is.”
The rosters include 26 first-time All-Stars across the majors, and the Yankees supplied two of them plus a third player experiencing his first as an American Leaguer. More could join if injured or withdrawing players open spots.
MLB.com listed the complete 2026 All-Star rosters as unveiled on July 4. The game is scheduled for July 14 at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia. (MLB.com)
American League
| Player | Team | Position |
| Shea Langeliers | Athletics | C |
| Vladimir Guerrero Jr. | Blue Jays | 1B |
| Ernie Clement | Blue Jays | 2B |
| Junior Caminero | Rays | 3B |
| Bobby Witt Jr. | Royals | SS |
| Mike Trout | Angels | OF |
| Byron Buxton | Twins | OF |
| Aaron Judge | Yankees | OF |
| Yordan Alvarez | Astros | DH |
| Dillon Dingler | Tigers | C |
| Adley Rutschman | Orioles | C |
| Travis Bazzana | Guardians | INF |
| Nick Kurtz | Athletics | INF |
| Kevin McGonigle | Tigers | INF |
| Ben Rice | Yankees | INF |
| Miguel Vargas | White Sox | INF |
| Randy Arozarena | Mariners | OF |
| Cody Bellinger | Yankees | OF |
| Riley Greene | Tigers | OF |
| Yandy Díaz | Rays | DH |
| Dylan Cease | Blue Jays | RHP |
| Parker Messick | Guardians | LHP |
| Drew Rasmussen | Rays | RHP |
| Joe Ryan | Twins | RHP |
| Cam Schlittler | Yankees | RHP |
| Ranger Suarez | Red Sox | LHP |
| Michael Wacha | Royals | RHP |
| Bryan Baker | Rays | RHP |
| Aroldis Chapman | Red Sox | LHP |
| Jacob Latz | Rangers | LHP |
| Cade Smith | Guardians | RHP |
| Louis Varland | Blue Jays | RHP |
National League
| Player | Team | Position |
| Drake Baldwin | Braves | C |
| Freddie Freeman | Dodgers | 1B |
| Ozzie Albies | Braves | 2B |
| Max Muncy | Dodgers | 3B |
| CJ Abrams | Nationals | SS |
| Brandon Marsh | Phillies | OF |
| Juan Soto | Mets | OF |
| Andy Pages | Dodgers | OF |
| Shohei Ohtani | Dodgers | DH |
| William Contreras | Brewers | C |
| Hunter Goodman | Rockies | C |
| Luis Arraez | Giants | INF |
| Bryce Harper | Phillies | INF |
| Otto Lopez | Marlins | INF |
| Matt Olson | Braves | INF |
| Sal Stewart | Reds | INF |
| Corbin Carroll | Diamondbacks | OF |
| Pete Crow-Armstrong | Cubs | OF |
| Jordan Walker | Cardinals | OF |
| James Wood | Nationals | OF |
| Kyle Schwarber | Phillies | DH |
| Chase Burns | Reds | RHP |
| Max Meyer | Marlins | RHP |
| Jacob Misiorowski | Brewers | RHP |
| Eduardo Rodriguez | Diamondbacks | LHP |
| Chris Sale | Braves | LHP |
| Cristopher Sánchez | Phillies | LHP |
| Paul Skenes | Pirates | RHP |
| Logan Webb | Giants | RHP |
| Yoshinobu Yamamoto | Dodgers | RHP |
| Jhoan Duran | Phillies | RHP |
| Raisel Iglesias | Braves | RHP |
| Mason Miller | Padres | RHP |
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