Philadelphia Phillies third baseman Placido Polanco isn't on the disabled list yet, but a bulging disc in his back will keep him out of the All-Star Game. In his place, manager Bruce Bochy will name San Francisco Giants third baseman Pablo Sandoval to the All-Star squad. From Andrew Baggarly of the Mercury News:
2011 All-Star Game Rosters: Pablo Sandoval Replacing Placido Polanco
Looks like Pablo Sandoval is an NL All-Star, replacing Placido Polanco on the active roster.
With Chipper Jones also unable to play, Sandoval will be the fourth player from the hot corner to make the National League roster, joining Scott Rolen on the team. Sandoval is hitting .305/.345/.505 with 8 home runs, having a nice bounce back year after his poor 2010 season. Despite missing over a month with a broken hand, he is tied with NL third basemen in WAR, according to FanGraphs.
There was speculation that Bochy would take Aramis Ramirez to fill in, complete with tweets by beat writers suggesting that Bochy admitted he was taking Ramirez. While Ramirez might have been the first choice of Bochy, he already had plans during the Break:
Cubs confirm that Ramirez not going to NL All-Star game to replace Polanco. Already had plans to go home to D.R.
So Pablo will make his first All-Star appearance, which helps to rectify the tragedy of the Giants being criminally underrepresented at the All-Star Game. He will be the fifth Giant on the team, joining Tim Lincecum, Matt Cain, Ryan Vogelsong, and Brian Wilson, though Cain will be replaced after he pitches today.
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