In his seventh season in the Majors, Chris Bassitt has made his first All-Star Game.
The right-hander was announced as a replacement player on Saturday, which means he’ll head to Colorado as Oakland’s second representative at Tuesday's Midsummer Classic, alongside fellow first-timer Matt Olson.
Bassitt has been steadily productive since reaching the Majors with the White Sox in 2014, posting a career 3.55 ERA -- and only one season with an ERA above 4.00. From 2016-18, he threw only 75 2/3 innings, with a Tommy John surgery wedged in the middle of it.
But since then, he's emerged as one of Oakland’s best arms, and now he’s receiving leaguewide recognition for it.
“A lot’s been documented on where he’s come from in his career to where he is now,” A’s manager Bob Melvin said. “He was pretty emotional after his first shutout, leading the way as a starter the last year and a half. This kind of culminates all that hard work and perseverance.
“To make an All-Star Team’s a special day.”
Bassitt will start on Sunday for Oakland against the Rangers in Arlington, but the team is OK with him pitching in Tuesday’s All-Star Game if an opportunity arises. A one-inning performance could work in lieu of a normal bullpen session.
Replacements for the All-Star Game are selected like this: If an elected starter is unable to play, the manager will choose one of the player selections to replace him in the starting lineup. The roster replacement is then chosen by the league.
If a player-elected reserve position player must be replaced, the next in line on the player ballot becomes a reserve, unless the leaders of the player ballot have already been accounted for. If the top finishers on the player ballot are already All-Stars, then MLB can select another replacement.
Laureano is ‘the guy’ at leadoff, for now
The A’s undoubtedly miss Mark Canha, their leadoff hitter, whose .826 OPS is second only to Olson on the team. Canha hasn’t played since June 24 due to a left hip strain, but in the meantime, Ramón Laureano has been an impressive replacement.
In his past three games at the No. 1 spot, Laureano is 5-for-12 (.417) with two doubles and two walks. He’d been in a platoon situation with Tony Kemp, but Kemp has been cold since the day Canha got hurt (Kemp is just 3-for-40 since June 25).
Fortunately for the A’s, Laureano stepped up; now the leadoff role is his for the short term until Canha returns.
“I think, with the fact that Tony’s been struggling a little bit, Ramón’s the guy for the job right now,” Melvin said. “We hope to get Mark back right after the [All-Star] break, so hopefully it’s just two more games.”