BOSTON — Giancarlo Stanton is headed to the All-Star Game for the first time as a Yankee.
Stanton was voted in as a starter in the outfield thanks in part to his 21 homers. He’ll join Aaron Judge, the top vote-getter in MLB, for the game.
Unlike Judge, who said he’ll sit out the Home Run Derby, Stanton indicated he likely would participate in the exhibition if invited.
Asked if he had interest, Stanton said, “I do. There’s nothing official yet, but I definitely could be there.”
Making it even more meaningful for Stanton is the fact the game will be played at Dodger Stadium in his home city of Los Angeles on July 19. It’s the fifth All-Star selection for the outfielder.
“It’s really cool to be able to go where I grew up and be in the All-Star Game,’’ Stanton said Friday after the Yankees beat the Red Sox, 12-5, at Fenway Park.
And he’s also pleased to be going as an outfielder after spending much of his time at DH since the Yankees acquired him from the Marlins before the 2018 season.
“That’s where I was from the start,’’ Stanton said. “It’s been an interesting past couple years, but it’s good to be back out there.”
The Yankees figure to have a number of All-Stars and manager Aaron Boone said he wants any players who make the team to play if they choose to and not worry about the toll it might take on them.
“That’s an honor,’’ Boone said of making an All-Star team. “If our guys can go, especially guys that haven’t been there, I want them going and to experience that. We’ll take care of guys as best we can with that in mind.”
What makes things more difficult for the Yankees is that their break is cut short by a day, since they have to play a doubleheader in Houston on July 21 to make up the rest of the series that was postponed due to the MLB lockout.
Boone added he hasn’t placed any calls to American League manager Dusty Baker to campaign for his players, but didn’t rule it out.
Among the benefits of running away with the division at the halfway mark of the regular season is that it allows a team to be careful with its most important players.
That’s what the Yankees are doing — and will continue to do — with Judge, according to Boone.
Judge, who sat on Thursday due to soreness in his calves while the Yankees defeated the Red Sox at Fenway Park, was back in the lineup as the designated hitter on Friday and went 0-for-5 in the win.
Boone said they would continue to look for spots to ease the stress on Judge, especially leading up to the All-Star Game. He expects Judge to be back in center field on Saturday and Sunday heading into a day off Monday, with at least one or two more DH appearances before the All-Star break begins.
“We want to be smart and make sure he stays in a good spot,’’ Boone said of Judge, who leads the majors with 30 homers. “We did that last year, picking certain days [to rest Judge]. But we want him posting [in the lineup] as much as he can.”
The same is true of Anthony Rizzo, who is dealing with lower-back stiffness and was held out of the lineup Friday for a fourth straight game.
Boone said Rizzo went through a regular pregame routine on Friday and he had an “eye on” getting the first baseman back in the lineup for Saturday’s game.
Gleyber Torres had three more hits, giving him four straight multi-hit games for the first time in his career.
