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Phillies Players Call Out MLB Over Cristopher Sanchez Decision

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Matthew Sullivan | Last updated Jul 12, 2025 1:47 PM ET

The Philadelphia Phillies are sitting atop the NL East and are only a few games behind the Los Angeles Dodgers for the top spot in the National League. And yet, they only have two representatives in the All-Star Game this season.

Zack Wheeler and Kyle Schwarber are All-Stars for the Phillies, yet more players deserve such an honor. None more so than Cristopher Sanchez. But he wasn't named an All-Star replacement.

The frustration from the Phillies clubhouse was apparent. Still, it exploded into anger once MLB announced that Milwaukee Brewers pitcher Jacob Misiorowski, who's pitched just five games in his career, was named an All-Star.

Matt Gelb of The Athletic shared the anger from the Phillies clubhouse over Sanchez's lack of an All-Star game nod. Multiple Phillies players expressed their frustration, but none described the situation more succinctly than Trea Turner.

"What a joke," Turner said. "That's (expletive) terrible. I mean, that's terrible, dude."

Turner was far from the only one to express their frustration. J.T. Realmuto also had strong words for MLB on Sanchez missing out on the All-Star honor.

"That's just how MLB does it now," Realmuto said. "Nothing against the Misiorowski kid. But those two (Sanchez and Ranger Suarez) are deserving of being on the team in the first place. There's no doubt."

The Phillies players are, justifiably, frustrated that Sanchez isn't earning a spot on the All-Star team. Even if he doesn't pitch in the game, he's done enough this season to earn the All-Star nod.

Though 18 starts this season, Sanchez has a 2.59 ERA, which is 10th in MLB, and fourth in the National League. He has 116 strikeouts, 15th in the Majors this season, and a remarkable 165 ERA+, the highest in his MLB career.

With a 7-2 record and the dominance he's displayed through 107.2 innings this season, Sanchez is more than deserving of an All-Star nod. Between Misiorowski's innings (25.2) and ERA (2.81), there's no justification for him to earn an All-Star spot over Sanchez this season.

The 28-year-old is more than deserving of an All-Star game accolade, even if he doesn't pitch in the game. With Sanchez missing the All-Star game nod, the Phillies players are irate.

Turner continued to blast MLB for their decision not to give Sanchez his well-deserved All-Star spot: "If he's not an All-Star, then no one is."

With how great Sanchez has been, combined with who's getting in the All-Star game over him, there's no larger All-Star game snub this season than Sanchez.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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