Treinen named to All-Star team

CLEVELAND -- Blake Treinen is headed back to Washington, where his MLB career began, as the Athletics' representative at the 2018 All-Star Game presented by Mastercard.
The 30-year-old Treinen is in the midst of a breakout campaign in his first full season with the A's after being acquired from the Nationals last July. The right-hander paces all qualified relievers with a 0.81 ERA and is tied for fourth in the American League with 22 saves to earn his first All-Star nod.
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Treinen has been a key member at the back end of an A's bullpen that ranks ninth in the Majors with a 3.64 ERA. His 10.88 strikeouts per nine innings marks a career high, while his .171 batting average against marks a career low.
"It's a blessing and a tribute to my teammates for putting me in good positions and the staff for giving me chances to have success in the back end of the bullpen and at the end of games," Treinen said. "To say I hadn't been thinking about it would be a lie.
"I'm excited to go back and see some friends. It's kind of cool, going back to the place I debuted. Just last year being removed from there, it'll be fun."
Major League Baseball announced the 32-man rosters for each league, although more players may be added over time due to injuries. Second baseman Jed Lowrie was not among those named, but he is a prime candidate to end up on the AL squad in what would also be his first Midsummer Classic.
Lowrie, 34, is second among all AL second baseman with 3.2 WAR according to FanGraphs, and he has already tied his previous career high with 16 home runs. He's heating up at the right time, too, with five homers in his past 12 games, including long balls hit on Saturday and Sunday.

"I feel like a lot of us here had really good seasons, and you could throw four guys' names around that could have an opportunity to be there," Treinen said. "We're still waiting on Jed to get completely through, because he's had one heck of a year. I'd let him take my place any day, because his year is incredible, as you can see today. It's just typical Jed."
On Tuesday, July 17, while watching the 2018 All-Star Game presented by Mastercard live on FOX, fans can submit their choices for the Ted Williams Most Valuable Player Award presented by Chevrolet with the 2018 All-Star Game MLB.com MVP Vote.
The 89th Midsummer Classic, at Nationals Park in Washington, D.C., will be televised nationally by FOX Sports; in Canada by Rogers Sportsnet and RDS; and worldwide by partners in more than 180 countries. FOX Deportes will provide Spanish-language coverage in the United States, while ESPN Radio and ESPN Radio Deportes will provide exclusive national radio coverage of the All-Star Game. MLB Network, MLB.com and SiriusXM also will provide comprehensive All-Star Week coverage.