Seattle Mariners' Julio Rodriguez Addresses Decision to Skip All-Star Game on Instagram

10 a.m. PT:

The Seattle Mariners announced on Friday morning that outfielder Julio Rodriguez will not participate in the All-Star Game next week, despite being voted in by his fellow players.

Per the Mariners:

Julio Rodriguez who was voted into the 2025 All-Star Game via the players ballot, will not be able to participate this year. He will take the break to recuperate, rest and prepare for the second half.

It's been a difficult first half of the season for Rodriguez offensively, who has seen his batting average drop to .244 and his on-base percentage dip to .301. He's also seen his slugging dip to .386 and his OPS fall to .687. He's got a 100 OPS+, meaning he's a league-average player right now.

He's got 11 home runs, and he's stolen 15 bases, and he plays a supreme center field, but he just hasn't been the impact player that he was the first three years of his career.

The Mariners - and Rodriguez - will hope that some time off will help him recover, presumably mentally and physically.

The M's enter play on Thursday at 48-45 and in second place in the American League West, though they are seven back of the Houston Astros. They also one game back of the third and final wild card in the American League, as they've lost three straight games.

Rodriguez is 3-for-20 over his last five games.

Seattle will be back in action on Friday afternoon against the Detroit Tigers, with first pitch coming at 4:10 p.m. PT.