Photo: twitter.com/reds
Pitcher Luis Castillo will be the only one attending the 2022 MLB All-Star Game for the Cincinnati Reds.
It turns out that the Cincinnati Reds won't be completely absent from Major League Baseball's All-Star Game after all.
Pitcher Luis Castillo will be the Reds' only representative at the 2022 All-Star Game, which will take place at 7:30 p.m. Eastern at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles on July 19. Like other pitchers, Castillo was selected by MLB players. It will be the right-hander's second appearance at the summer classic.
As of press time, Castillo has a 3-4 win-loss record with a 2.92 ERA through 71 innings this season. He'd missed out on the lockout-delayed spring training and the start of the 2022 season due to shoulder strain.
"It’s kind of a surprise. I really don’t believe it yet," Castillo recently told MLB.com writer Jeff Wallner. "There are several other players who are having a fantastic year. Every player wants to be an All-Star. You feel like you have achieved something greater."
Luis got the news. ⭐️ pic.twitter.com/IFzClSq8MK
— Cincinnati Reds (@Reds) July 10, 2022
Both the National League (NL) and American League (AL) teams must roster at least one player from each franchise in their respective leagues, and Castillo is it for the Reds. During a series of rounds, baseball fans voted their favorite players into each fielding position, and Reds players did not receive enough support to move into the finals. MLB commissioner Rob Manfred also did not choose any Reds as his special selections; those two spots went to Albert Pujols of the Cardinals (NL) and Miguel Cabrera of the Detroit Tigers (AL).
As of July 8, the Cincinnati Reds are 32-54 for the 2022 season, which puts them in last place in the NL Central and third-from-last in the entire MLB. Earlier this year, baseball experts had said that the Reds were on pace for a 125-loss season, the lowest for any team since 1900.
Brian Snitker, manager for the current World Series champion Atlanta Braves, will lead the NL team, while Houston Astros manager Dusty Baker will serve as skipper for the AL (Baker had managed the Cincinnati Reds from 2008-2013).
League managers will determine starting pitchers the day before the game. Castillo is one of seven potential starting pitchers for the NL; there are also five relievers on the team (the AL has a total of 13 pitchers on its roster).
Several Reds-affiliated players and coaches in the minor leagues will participate in the All-Star Futures Game, which is part of All-Star Week and will take place at 7 p.m. Eastern on July 16. Like the MLB All-Star Game, the All-Star Futures Game will be played at Dodger Stadium and is a seven-inning affair — rather than the typical nine — that showcases talent from each MLB team's farm system. Career Dodgers catcher and longtime Los Angeles Angels manager Mike Scioscia will manage the NL team, while Jimmy Rollins — who had amassed multiple team records and awards during his many years as a shortstop with the Philadelphia Phillies — will lead the AL team. Both managers have contributed to World Series wins.
Eric Davis, the Cincinnati Reds hall of famer and 1990 World Series winner who now helps to develop players in the minors, will serve as first-base coach for the NL. Davis had been the Reds' centerfielder for multiple seasons and regularly posted 30 homers and 40 stolen bases per year.
Two players from the Reds' minor-league teams will be on the roster for the National League during the Futures game. Pitcher Andrew Abbott, who plays for the Chattanooga Lookouts in Double-A, has posted seven wins and a 4.09 ERA for 2022 as of press time. He was promoted from the High-A Dayton Dragons earlier this year. Meanwhile, Dragons shortstop Elly De La Cruz has knocked in 18 homers and has stolen 26 bases as of July 8. The switch-hitter nabbed three of those dingers during a double-header on July 7, shortly after he was named to the Futures team.
Find full information about the 2022 MLB All-Star Game and All-Star Week activities, which also include the All-Star Celebrity Softball Game, an MLB draft, fan fests, public baseball instruction and live music.
The Los Angeles Dodgers originally were to host the All-Star Game in 2020, but that game was canceled due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
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