The New York Yankees already had one of their players — captain Aaron Judge — voted into the All-Star Game after Phase 1 of the voting process. He led all American League players in votes (with the other 2024 unanimous MVP, Shohei Ohtani, leading the National League in votes), and will be playing right field for the AL All-Star team at Truist Park in Atlanta on July 15th.
However, the Yankees had three other players in close contention for spots on the AL squad, though only two of them advanced to Phase 2 of the voting. Cody Bellinger fell just short of making the final outfield ballot, while first baseman Paul Goldschmidt and designated hitter Ben Rice did make the cut. Rice was bidding for his first career All-Star nod, while the former MVP Goldschmidt was eyeing his eighth.
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Goldschmidt will be turning 38 in September, though it was hard to tell from the production he put up to begin the campaign. After an uncharacteristic down year in his final season with the St. Louis Cardinals, he bounced back in The Bronx across the first two months, though a recent slump has brought his slash line to a still-solid .284/.347/.425 with a 116 wRC+. However, he had stiff competition in Phase 2 of the All-Star Game voting in the form of another AL East first baseman.
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. had a dominant 2024 season, and while he hasn’t been quite as excellent in 2025, he has still been strong for the Toronto Blue Jays. The 26-year-old is slashing .278/.380/.447 with a 134 wRC+ and remains one of the most popular players in the game. His 138 wRC+ is the highest on the Blue Jays and he sits third in total fWAR among all position players behind Alejandro Kirk and Ernie Clement, who have been defensive monsters north of the border so far this season.
As just revealed on ESPN, it wasn’t close at all. Vladdy tripled up Goldy, 75 percent to 25.
In Rice’s case, the age scenario is flipped, with the older player of the two in the race — in this case, Ryan O’Hearn of the Baltimore Orioles — leading the charge. The 31-year-old is slashing .295/.383/.471 with an impressive wRC+ of 144 on an Orioles team that has notably struggled through the first half of the season. He has certainly been a bright spot during what has been a very underwhelming season.
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Rice has been good as well, slashing .229/.324/.471 with a wRC+ of 124. He, as many might recall, was one of the best hitters in baseball through the first couple of months of the 2025 season. His 168 wRC+ from the end of March to April was one of the top marks in the league. However, he began to slow down. In May, he hit only five points above the average, and June was a horrid month, hitting to the tune of an 83 wRC+. Rice is still hitting the ball hard, but the results are the results.
Just as he did in Phase 1, O’Hearn beat out Rice in the voting, and it was even more of a blowout than Guerrero vs. Goldschmidt. Per ESPN, O’Hearn had 78 percent to Rice’s 22.
So while both Yankees hitters have been good relative to their positions and have helped the team win games and lead the AL East thus far, they were outvoted by superior players in Guerrero and O’Hearn. Such is the nature of the event. They will still have a chance to make the team as reserves when those are announced on Sunday along with the pitchers. Look for Max Fried and perhaps Carlos Rodón to join Judge in Atlanta, but unless Goldschmidt’s sterling reputation helps him out, he (and Rice) might very well end up being on the outside looking in on the Midsummer Classic.
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