Jones to start in All-Star Game

Orioles center fielder Adam Jones will start in Tuesday's All-Star Game presented by T-Mobile, replacing the injured Alex Gordon of the Royals, who had been elected to start in the outfield for the American League.

Jones, who finished seventh in the All-Star balloting that ended last week, will be making his fifth Midsummer Classic appearance and will start for a third consecutive year.

"I'm truly humbled that the players selected me," Jones said following Monday's announcement. "I think it's humbling because I just go out and play every day. I don't play for accolades except the [World Series] ring, and it's humbling that the players around the league see that I play every day and I play hard every day, and they see what I mean to this team and what the team means to me. ... I just do it for my teammates and the name across my chest, so it's humbling that the players around the league, they see that."

Gordon's groin injury on Wednesday night set off a series of dominoes that already has had a big impact on the AL roster. There are clear guidelines for how teams replace an injured player in the starting lineup, but the process for filling the roster spot is a bit more subjective.

Jones automatically got into the starting lineup since he was the top vote-getter on the Player Ballot who was not selected to start by the fans. The manager is given discretion to name a replacement on the roster, and on Thursday afternoon, Royals manager Ned Yost tabbed Yankees outfielder Brett Gardner, who was on the Final Vote ballot. Gardner, a left fielder like Gordon, was subsequently removed from the Esurance All-Star Game Final Vote ballot.

Assuming there are no more injuries, the one major "replacement" storyline that looms involves the starting pitchers. Per the rules, if a starting pitcher works on Sunday, it is up to him whether or not he remains on the active roster for the All-Star Game. If he opts out, he is still considered an All-Star, but another pitcher will be added to the roster for the game. If a replacement for a pitcher needs to be found, that's at the discretion of the manager.

That process could apply specifically to Oakland's Sonny Gray, who is scheduled to start on Sunday, as well as Washington's Max Scherzer, whose turn in the rotation was scheduled for Sunday before the Nationals were rained out on Wednesday.