Kyle Seager named to AL All-Star team as Edwin Encarnacion’s replacement
Less than 24 hours after being left off the American League All-Star team, Seattle Mariners third baseman Kyle Seager can smile after he was named as an injury replacement for Edwin Encarnacion.
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The Toronto Blue Jays placed their slugging third baseman on the disabled list, making him ineligible to play in the Midsummer Classic next Tuesday and now Seager, 26, can join two of his Mariner teammates in Minneapolis for the All-Star festivities which begin on Monday with the Home Run Derby.
Seager joins Felix Hernandez, who could be the American League’s starting pitcher and second baseman Robinson Cano who was voted in by the fans to start. This is the first time since 2011 that the Mariners have sent three players to the All-Star Game when Hernandesz was joined by fellow starter Michael Pineda and reliever Brandon League.
He is hitting .274 with 13 home runs, 21 doubles, 59 runs batted in and has scored 36 runs for the Mariners and also brings fine glove work to the hot corner and could be a late-inning replacement for head coach John Farrell when Josh Donaldson is removed from the game.
Encarnacion was injured over the weekend when he tried to beat out a grounder to first base. He tumbled and laid down in a heap for a few moments before being helped to the dugout with the aid of the Blue Jays training staff.
He very well likely could have been a participant in the Home Run Derby with Toronto teammate, Jose Bautista, as he has hit 26 home runs so far this season in addition to having 70 RBI, 57 runs and a .591 slugging percentage as one of the top third basemen in the American League.