NEW YORK – Aaron Judge’s ticket to the 2025 MLB All-Star Game presented by Mastercard has been punched for more than a week, a perk of being the leading vote-getter among all Major Leaguers.
And now the Yankees captain knows who will be joining him in the American League dugout.
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Left-hander Max Fried and infielder Jazz Chisholm Jr. have been selected to represent the Bombers at the Midsummer Classic, which will be played on July 15 at Atlanta’s Truist Park.
“I’m excited for both of them to be in Atlanta,” Judge said after the Yankees’ 6-4 Subway Series win over the Mets on Sunday at Citi Field. “They both deserve it. And hopefully, we can grab a couple more guys in this room to have with us.”
As the manager of the defending AL champions, Yankees skipper Aaron Boone will be in charge of his first All-Star Game lineup card. Boone has acknowledged that Fried is “making a case” to start the game for the AL as one of the league’s best pitchers in the first half.
Though the decision hasn’t been made yet, that would be significant. This will mark Fried’s return to Atlanta, where he pitched for the Braves from 2017-24 and earned a pair of All-Star nods.
“I wasn’t really looking too far ahead, just because I had [Sunday’s] start to really worry about,” Fried said. “But I’m sure over the next couple of days, it will be able to sink in a little more. I spent my whole big league career there, and it means a lot.
“I think it’ll be cool to see some familiar faces and be in the stadium that I was in for the first part of my career.”
The 31-year-old Fried certainly has been everything the Yankees could have hoped for as he begins his career in pinstripes, having signed an eight-year, $218 million contract with the Bombers in December.
In 19 starts, Fried has pitched to an 11-2 record and 2.27 ERA, including a victory on Sunday over the Mets in which he assumed his familiar stopper role. Fried is 9-1 with a 1.59 ERA (79 innings, 14 earned runs) in starts after a Yankees loss.
Fried has allowed two earned runs or fewer in 15 of his 19 starts and one earned run or fewer in 10.
“It’s been incredible, what Max has done for us,” Judge said. “Coming over here, coming to a big market, signing a big deal as a free agent – it’s always tough. A lot of pressure, a lot of expectations.
“He’s definitely exceeded a lot of guys’ expectations. He’s been a huge piece to the success we’ve had all season, being our ace and the front line of this pitching staff.”
It’s the second All-Star honor for Chisholm. Playing his first full season with the Yankees, Chisholm has slashed .245/.341/.500 with nine doubles, 15 home runs, 38 RBIs and 10 stolen bases in 59 games.
Chisholm called the honor “pretty great,” while Judge lauded “what Jazz has been doing all year – hitting the ball all over the field, making some great plays.”
The 27-year-old Chisholm has been especially productive since returning from the injured list, which Chisholm attributes to his new “70%” mindset, taking his foot off the gas just a bit.
In 29 games since being activated on June 3, Chisholm is slashing .308/.380/.589 (33-for-107) with 17 runs, six doubles, eight homers, 21 RBIs, 13 walks and four stolen bases.
“You work hard, and to get the recognition, it’s amazing,” Chisholm said. “It got harder [to make the All-Star team] once I got hurt, but I came back and got hot. I think I worked hard for it and earned it.”
Of course, Chisholm plans to arrive in style: He’s looking forward to showing off some drip at the All-Star red carpet event. No spoilers, but it should be a good show.
“I do have a fit in mind, but you guys will just have to see it,” Chisholm said.