Boone: 'It's a joke' that Gleyber isn't an All-Star

NEW YORK -- Three additional players were added to the American League All-Star roster on Wednesday, but Yankees second baseman Gleyber Torres was not one of them. The Rays’ Brandon Lowe, the Twins’ Jose Berrios and Boston’s Xander Bogaerts were added to replace the Angels’ Tommy La Stella, Minnesota’s Jake Odorizzi and the Rangers’ Hunter Pence. Yankees manager Aaron Boone indicated Wednesday that he had expected Torres’ name to be called at some point.

“I think it’s a joke that he’s not on that team,” Boone said. “I mean, Gleyber Torres not an All-Star? You can kick rocks on that one, that’s ridiculous. He’s been unbelievable for us, for a first-place club. The offensive consistency he’s had, the power, the on-base, the playing both positions in the middle infield. I mean, it doesn’t seem right to me that he’s not on that team.”

Entering Wednesday, Torres was hitting .295 with a .907 OPS -- both of which would be higher than his final-season totals last year in his rookie campaign. He already has 19 home runs, just five shy of tying his 2018 total.

“I’m just really proud of the continued strides that I see with him from the time he got called up last year and was an impact [player] for us right away,” he said. “I feel like his game, in little subtle ways, has improved so much as well. And those are things that we’ve challenged him on, and I feel like he’s kind of met every challenge, and he continues to become this more polished, well-rounded, great player at such a young age”

Boone acknowledged that there are a lot of factors that go into All-Star selections, including every team needing to be represented and the factoring in of player, coach and fan voting.

“Ultimately, every year, you’re going to have guys that are certainly deserving that don’t get in that game,” Boone said. “But the Gleyber one is one of those that is a head-scratcher for me.”