Royals Tie Yankees, Mets, 3 Others With Fourth All-Star Representative

The Kansas City Royals have somehow managed to sit at the table with the big dogs.

In the Major League Baseball All-Star Game this year, only nine teams received at least four representatives. The best team in the league, the Detroit Tigers, has six. The Los Angeles Dodgers and Seattle Mariners have five. And six teams now have four.

The Royals are part of that group, because third baseman Maikel Garcia is now an All-Star.

Garcia was officially named as a replacement for the American League on Friday, with Tampa Bay Rays second baseman Brandon Lowe heading to the injured list with an oblique injury.

The 25-year-old Garcia has been excellent all season, far surpassing any and all expectations after his subpar 2024 campaign. In 92 games, he owns a .305/.363/.464 slash line, eight home runs, 40 RBI, 18 stolen bases (with a league-high nine caught stealings), and 39 runs scored.

Garcia now joins Royals teammates Bobby Witt Jr., Kris Bubic, and Carlos Estévez, who also was named as a fill-in on Friday, as All-Stars. That makes the Royals the sixth team with at exactly four representatives.

The other five, notably, are all over .500, and most play in considerably bigger markets than the 46-48 Royals: New York Yankees, New York Mets, San Diego Padres, Houston Astros, Tampa Bay Rays.

Somehow, the Royals managed to turn the All-Star Game in Atlanta to a Kansas City showcase despite, well, some lackluster baseball as a team. But they're starting to turn things around in July, and perhaps they can capitalize on some of that All-Star momentum for a big second half.

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