One carried with him questions into the offseason about how his bat would perform after an injury-marred year, also playing away from a hitter-friendly field. The other turns 39 in July.

Now Nolan Arenado and Yadier Molina have been named finalists for starting spots in the 2021 All-Star Game.

• VOTE NOW: Google MLB All-Star Ballot

You can vote NOW up until Thursday at 1 p.m. CT. Fans can vote at MLB.com/Vote -- or on Google by searching "MLB All-Star vote" or "Vote" along with a player's name. You can vote daily on both platforms, including once per day on MLB.com.

The All-Star starters will then be unveiled on Thursday at 8 p.m. CT, on ESPN, when the results of Phase 2 balloting are announced. The rest of the 2021 All-Star rosters will be named on Sunday, July 4, at 4:30 p.m. CT on ESPN.

Arenado and Molina are each looking to add to their illustrious list of career accomplishments, with the former eyeing his sixth Midsummer Classic nod, back in his old stomping ground at Coors Field, and the latter his 10th -- on the date of his 39th birthday.

Voting totals start anew in Phase 2, though Arenado (at 939,315 votes) finished 586,871 votes behind top third baseman Kris Bryant of the Cubs and Molina (at 934,413 votes) finished 910,629 votes behind top catcher Buster Posey of the Giants.

• Every 2021 All-Star Game finalist

Absent from the next round of voting, notably, is Tyler O’Neill, who was in position to advance to Phase 2, in ninth place among NL outfielders as of Monday, but was edged by Mike Yastrzemski of the Giants. O’Neill, who’s also said he’d accept an invitation to the Home Run Derby, can still make the team as a reserve.

For Arenado and Molina, though, their advance to the next round comes amid equally impressive and ebullient seasons. Though his season numbers are down a peg, Arenado is putting together the best offensive season of his career by the park-adjusted OPS+ metric at 135, making his staple spectacular defensive plays -- such as an over-the-shoulder catch on Saturday -- along the way.

Molina, who’s cooled off at the plate in June, was on pace for one of the finest offensive seasons of his career but is still performing far better than his previous two seasons. He’s still one of the best throwing catchers in the game, second in caught stealing.

Pitchers are not included in the fan voting phase, though closer Alex Reyes stands to have a chance to represent the Cardinals as their lone pitcher in Denver.

Rotation switch-up
The Cardinals have promised a new look to their rotation, and it starts on Monday.

Wade LeBlanc, signed to a free-agent deal on June 17 with four relief outings to his name, will make his first start as a Cardinal when St. Louis opens up a three-game set against the D-backs. He takes the spot of John Gant, who has been transitioned to a long-relief role in the bullpen, where he's had success the past two seasons.

Notably, Carlos Martínez remains in the Cards rotation despite a 13.73 ERA (30 earned runs, 19 2/3 innings) across his last five starts.

“Candidly, Carlos has to continue to pitch better to keep his spot,” manager Mike Shildt said. “But when you look at internal options, there's -- and again, it's a question maybe outside of me -- but the options are somewhat limited.”