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2024 MLB All-Star snubs: Five players who should have made rosters this week

Since a Texas Ranger has a pretty good reason to feel left out, let’s give this exercise a go.

If All-Star rosters are upon us, it can mean only one thing: It’s also time for All-Star roster snubs.

Not usually a big fan of the exercise, but …

Since the game is at Globe Life Field a week from Tuesday and …

Since a Texas Ranger has a pretty good reason to feel snubbed, let’s give it a go. So, here are our top five All-Star snubs, who should be on the rosters next week:

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Josh Smith, Rangers

We’re not just being homers here, OK? Well, maybe a little. But if you can’t be a homer for a guy from the host team, who are the defending world champions, who didn’t even have a position on opening day, well, what’s the point. In a season when offense is dreadfully down, Smith’s .292 batting average is the highest in the AL among guys not on the team. Yeah, yeah, what’s his wRC+ and his bat speed? Please. People don’t go to All-Star Games to watch metrics; they go to watch the game. Smith has played it extremely well in every facet. Not only that, he’s been versatile, too, playing both third and short, two exceptionally demanding positions.

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Jordan Westburg, Baltimore

You know the case for Smith? Ditto, Westburg. He’s been super versatile for the team with the third-best record in baseball, splitting time between third and second. Westburg (14) has double the number of homers as Smith and also has a lead in RBIs (49-34). Look, if the game was in Baltimore, Westburg would probably have the bigger snub case. But, it’s not. So, if there is a position player to be replaced this year, Smith should get the first call.

Christian Walker, Arizona

The NL has three really good first basemen in Bryce Harper, Pete Alonso and Freddie Freeman, but Walker’s 22 homers, 64 RBI and .853 OPS are the highest in each category among NL players not to make the team. He’s third in the NL in homers behind Shohei Ohtani and Marcell Ozuna and just ahead of Harper and Teoscar Hernandez.

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Jesse Chavez, Atlanta

How cool would it be to see a nearly 41-year-old bespectacled first-time All-Star trotting out of the NL bullpen with the game on the line in the middle innings? While the game has turned more and more towards Gen Z talent, it would be a big victory for the millennials. And Chavez has the bonafides this year with a 1.67 ERA in 37 relief innings. The Braves’ pitchers even took up their own campaign to try to get him chosen as a reserve.

Texas Rangers shortstop Corey Seager (right) and shortstop Josh Smith (left) leap in unison...
Texas Rangers shortstop Corey Seager (right) and shortstop Josh Smith (left) leap in unison on every pitch during their game against the Oakland Athletics at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas, April 10, 2024.(Tom Fox / Staff Photographer)

Corey Seager, Rangers

Can’t make the case for Seager over any of the three shortstops on the AL roster. Gunnar Henderson, Bobby Witt Jr. and Carlos Correa have been magnificent, but Seager’s .824 OPS is third among all guys left off All-Star rosters and he’s done pretty well in big moments at Globe Life Field (those two World Series MVPs make nice bookends). He’s hit 16 homers this season, tied for the team lead, and 52 homers in the stadium for his career (not including postseason). He’d make for a nice hometown Home Run Derby entry, too.

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