WASHINGTON — Anthony Rendon is skipping the All-Star Game.
On Friday evening, MLB announced that Rendon has bowed out of next week’s Midsummer Classic in order to rest his banged-up body. The Washington Nationals‘ third baseman will be replaced on the National League roster for Tuesday’s game by utility man Max Muncy of the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Muncy is hitting .276 with 21 homers and 59 RBIs. This marks his first All-Star appearance.
In the American League, Cleveland Indians starter Shane Bieber and Oakland Athletics reliever Liam Hendriks have been named to the squad as replacements for starters Mike Minor of the Texas Rangers and Charlie Morton of the Tampa Bay Rays.
Morton and Minor are starting Sunday so they are ineligible to pitch on Tuesday.
Rendon, who had never been an All-Star prior to this season, finished fifth in the primary balloting behind starter Nolan Arenado, Kris Bryant, Josh Donaldson and Justin Turner.
Earlier this week, two days after being selected as one of two NL reserves at the hot corner (along with Bryant), the 29-year-old veteran told reporters that he was considering skipping the game.
On April 20, Rendon was hit by a pitch on his left elbow. Ten days later, he was placed on the injured list with an elbow contusion and wound up missing 14 games due to the injury. Although his production at the plate hasn’t suffered, there have been times over the past few weeks where he’s appeared limited on the basepaths.
“I’ve been dealing with it for a while,” Rendon said Tuesday when asked how long he’s been hampered. “Definitely a few weeks now, and I’m pretty sure you can go back and watch the games. I haven’t been running out balls as much as I usually do in the past, so you can guys can go back and try to figure that out. I’m not going to release that.”
Entering Friday’s action, Rendon was hitting .310 with 20 home runs and 60 RBIs. His 1.022 OPS ranked fifth in the majors and was tops among all third basemen. Since returning from the injured list May 7, he has played in every game for the Nationals.
Hendriks is 3-0 with three saves and a 3.29 ERA. As a reliever, he has a league-leading 0.96 ERA with 58 strikeouts in 38 appearances.
Bieber is 7-3 with a 3.54 ERA.
The host Indians now have four All-Star representatives: Bieber, shortstop Francisco Lindor, reliever Brad Hand and first baseman Carlos Santana.