The New York Yankees already had two players going to the MLB All-Star Game in Hollywood and on Sunday four more were added to that list.
Jose Trevino, Nestor Cortes Gerritt Cole and Clay Holmes will join their Yankee teammates in Los Angeles after having miraculous first halves of the season. Cole has been an ace on the mound for the Bombers all season, while Trevino, Cortes and Holmes have all been feel-good stories in the Bronx that seemingly came out of nowhere.
All have helped make the Yankees the best team in baseball with a 61-24 record heading into Sunday night’s game against the Boston Red Sox.
While Cole had been expected to be one of the Yankees’ go-to’s on the mound, Cortes has had a major transformation over the past year after spending most of his baseball career as a journeyman. Cortes has a 2.74 ERA in 16 starts this season and nearly threw a no-hitter early in the year.
His ERA is among the top 20 in Major League Baseball and “Nasty Nestor’s” unique pitching style has made him a tough at-bat for hitters.
Holmes has had a similarly meteoric rise this year after taking over as the Yankees closer with Aroldis Chapman dealing with an injury for part of the year. Holmes turned into one of the best relievers in baseball and has a 0.46 ERA.
He has 16 saves to his name this season and is tied for 11th in the league for saves.
“There’s definitely something to the ninth inning, but when it comes to being out there on the mound you have to really kind of just focus and lock in on what you can control and the things that you do well,” Holmes told amNewYork earlier this season about closing.
Trevino has become a dual-threat for the Bombers on the defensive side of the game and his hitting. He has become a clutch hitter with runners in scoring position and his smarts behind the plate have come up big for New York.
In 153 at-bats, Trevino is batting .255 with 26 RBIs and seven home runs.
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Cole will make his fifth All-Star Game appearance in his career. Cortes, Holmes and Trevino are all making their first appearance at the Mid-Summer Classic.
The four join Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton, who were both named starters for the game on Friday night. Judge had already been guaranteed a spot after being the top vote-getter in the America League.
