All-Star Snubs Sting, But Red Sox Can’t Complain From Last Place

Ranger Suárez and Aroldis Chapman made the All-Star Game. Good for them—both have earned it. But here’s the thing that stings a little more: Willson Contreras, Ceddanne Rafaela, and Sonny Gray didn’t, and it’s hard to argue they were wrong to be left out when your team is languishing in last place.

That’s the brutal math of baseball’s All-Star selection process. Yes, Contreras has been productive at the plate. Yes, Rafaela provides speed and defense in center. Yes, Gray has pitched well when healthy. But when your club is genuinely bad, voters don’t extend the benefit of the doubt. They look at wins and losses first, individual excellence second. It’s not fair, exactly, but it’s how the game works.

Chapman’s selection is the one that makes sense given the roster construction. A reliever with his pedigree and stuff doesn’t need his team to be in contention to get recognized—elite closers are noticed. Suárez is more interesting. A front-line starter with credentials, sure, but getting recognition from a last-place team still says something about the quality of his season.

The real question is whether the Red Sox can use this as motivation. Contreras especially—a catcher in his prime who’s giving this organization legitimate at-bats—deserves to be part of a winning team. Rafaela’s talent suggests the same. Gray, when he takes the ball, shows ace-caliber stuff. These aren’t fringe players getting robbed; they’re solid contributors on a mediocre roster.

That’s actually the hardest part to swallow. It’s one thing to say players on bad teams don’t get All-Star recognition. It’s another to realize your team has legitimate talent and still can’t win enough games to matter. That’s a front office problem, not a player problem. And right now, that’s what the Red Sox are dealing with.