Chris Sale ‘Surprised’ This Red Sox Didn’t Receive All-Star Nod

The initial American League All-Star roster featured three Red Sox players, but a former Boston star believes there should have been a fourth.

Tanner Houck and Jarren Duran will represent the storied franchise at Tuesday night’s Midsummer Classic at Globe Life Field. Rafael Devers, meanwhile, will watch the star-studded event from home while he nurses a nagging shoulder injury.

All three of those players deserved All-Star selections, and Chris Sale believes Connor Wong did as well. Sale, who was traded by the Red Sox to the Atlanta Braves over the offseason, admitted Monday he was “surprised” the Boston catcher wasn’t invited to make the trip to Texas, per The Boston Globe.

Wong certainly made a legitimate case for himself in the unofficial first half of the season. His .307 batting average and .367 on-base percentage rank first among AL catchers who have played at least 70 games this season. And behind the dish, Wong has helped maximize a Red Sox pitching staff that currently boasts the fifth-best ERA (3.61) in all of baseball.

One has to imagine Wong isn’t dwelling too much on his All-Star omission, though. The 28-year-old’s focus likely is fixated on helping Boston keep pace and continue defying odds amid a playoff pursuit.