'It's going to be awesome': Franco added to All-Star team

ST. PETERSBURG -- Walking into the home clubhouse at Tropicana Field following the Rays’ 3-1 loss to the Phillies on Tuesday, Wander Franco found a welcome surprise.

Turns out, there was room for him in the All-Star Game, after all.

After being left off the initial American League All-Star team when the rosters were revealed on Sunday, Franco was added to the squad on Tuesday, Major League Baseball announced. With injured Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge unable to participate in the Midsummer Classic on July 11 at T-Mobile Park in Seattle, Franco will take his spot on the AL roster.

• MLB All-Star Game presented by Mastercard: July 11 on FOX

Franco received the news just after Tuesday’s game, making arguably the most glaring omission from the All-Star Game rosters a moot point in roughly 48 hours. While Franco was honored, his coaches and teammates were thrilled.

“I'm pumped for Wander. He is so deserving,” Rays manager Kevin Cash said. “It doesn't matter how you get on. When you get on, you’re on. He's an American League All-Star. The hope is we see many of those.”

Tampa Bay is now set to send four players to Seattle next week, with Franco joining fellow first-time All-Stars Yandy Díaz and Randy Arozarena, alongside injured ace Shane McClanahan, who was replaced on the roster on Tuesday by Mariners right-hander George Kirby.

Franco certainly earned his All-Star nod, living up to his former prospect hype and then some. The switch-hitting shortstop is slashing .286/.345/.469 with 10 homers, 21 doubles, 43 RBIs, 47 runs, 27 stolen bases and a Major League-leading 12 outs above average. Add it all up, and his 4.2 bWAR entering Tuesday ranked behind just one player in the AL: Shohei Ohtani.

“It's a no-brainer that he should be an All-Star. I thought it was kind of a travesty that he wasn't named an All-Star earlier,” said Rays starter Zach Eflin. “He's [second] in baseball in WAR, and it just doesn't make sense in my mind. But I'm happy that they got it right and he is able to go to the All-Star Game. He's so deserving of it. The way he plays, he’s such a dynamic player.”

Franco didn’t crack the club through the fan voting, in which he finished third behind elected starter Corey Seager of the Rangers and Toronto’s Bo Bichette. Tampa Bay’s 22-year-old star didn’t get in via player balloting, either, as Bichette finished ahead of Franco to earn a spot. And Franco wasn’t chosen by MLB after those two elections, with the composition of the AL roster and a few other factors involved.

“He was very well-deserving. Some of us were pretty upset that he didn't make it in the first round,” catcher Christian Bethancourt said. “You can also understand Bichette and Seager, they have great numbers, too. But Wander really deserved it, and I'm happy for him.”

Given Franco’s all-around excellence this season, and the number of players MLB needed to replace, it seemed inevitable that Franco would find his way onto the roster. Still, he said, he wondered if the behavior that led to his recent two-game benching would keep him out of his first All-Star Game.

“But I kept my head up, and thank God I'm in it,” Franco said through interpreter Manny Navarro. “We all learn from all the bad stuff and all the errors that we make, and we've got to just keep moving forward.”

This could very well be the first of many All-Star appearances for Franco. Since making his debut in 2021, he has performed at a high level whenever he’s been healthy, as evidenced by the 10.2 WAR he accumulated in his first 233 career games. This year, he’s bounced back well from a series of frustrating injuries last season, letting all the talent that once made him the game’s top prospect shine through.

Now, he’ll get to take his place on the same field as the rest of the game’s brightest stars.

“It's going to be super good, being able to be in there and being able to talk to everybody,” Franco said. “I think it's going to be awesome.”