Xander Bogaerts makes All-MLB first team

On Tuesday out in San Diego, the league unveiled their first ever All-MLB teams. If you don’t recall, this is a new postseason award added this year naming the top players at each position regardless of league. There are three outfielders, five starting pitchers and two relievers. The voting is split down the middle with fans getting half of the voting power and a panel of experts getting the other half. The first and second teams were both announced on Tuesday, with Boston getting one representative on each.

Xander Bogaerts was the shortstop for the first team All-MLB roster. This was a little surprising, not because he wasn’t deserving but rather that Marcus Semien was outstanding as well. The A’s shortstop, who did make the second team, was a top-three finisher in MVP voting this year. Bogaerts, though, built upon his breakout 2018 by putting up even better numbers this past year, finishing the year hitting .309/.384/.555 with a 141 wRC+.

On the second-team, Mookie Betts was part of the outfield along with youngsters Ronald Acuña and Juan Soto. Betts has, of course, been a part of trade rumors for months now. This was a nice reminder that, even in what was considered by some a down year for stretches through the season, he is still an elite player. Betts finished the year hitting .295/.391/.524 for a 135 wRC+ with his typical elite defense and baserunning.

There weren’t any real snubs for the Red Sox, though one could say Rafael Devers and J.D. Martinez had All-MLB-caliber seasons in some years. This was not one of those years, though. Anthony Rendon and Alex Bregman were the two third basemen making it over Devers while Nelson Cruz and Yordan Álvarez got the nod at the two DH slots. It’s hard to argue with any of those choices.