PHILADELPHIA — Major League Baseball’s All-Star rosters are being assembled through a layered selection process ahead of the Midsummer Classic at Citizens Bank Park on July 14, with fan voting, player ballots and Commissioner’s Office picks combining to fill 23 spots per league.
Nine starting position players in each league, including the designated hitter, were determined by fans through a two-phase voting process. Phase 1 narrowed the field, with the top overall vote-getter in each league — Shohei Ohtani in the National League and Ernie Clement in the American League — earning automatic starting spots and skipping Phase 2. The remaining starters were decided in head-to-head matchups during the All-Star Ballot Finals, with Phase 1 vote totals not carrying over.
With starters set, each league must fill 23 remaining roster spots to reach a total of 20 position players and 12 pitchers per side. Player ballots account for 17 selections in each league — eight pitchers, broken into five starters and three relievers, plus one backup at each position. If a player-ballot selection duplicates a fan-elected starter, the next player on the ballot moves up.
The Commissioner’s Office is responsible for selecting six additional players in each league — four pitchers and two position players. At this stage, “it is the job of the Commissioner’s Office to ensure this stipulation is accounted for with its selections” — the rule that every club must be represented by at least one All-Star. A change made in 2017 removed All-Star managers from the selection process entirely, eliminating any perceived conflicts of interest.
Starting pitchers for each squad will be announced the day before the game by NL manager Dave Roberts of the Los Angeles Dodgers and AL manager John Schneider of the Toronto Blue Jays. Pitchers who start the Sunday before the game may still participate, though clubs or players can request usage accommodations based on factors such as an injured-list stint, recent surgery or innings workload.
Commissioner Rob Manfred retains the option of making Special Selections to honor active players with distinguished careers. Those picks are additional roster spots and do not count toward team representation. In 2022, Albert Pujols and Miguel Cabrera received that designation, and last year Clayton Kershaw made the roster as a “Legend Pick.”
The full All-Star rosters are expected to be announced in the coming days, with first pitch at Citizens Bank Park set for July 14.