Bell, Gonzalez Set to Represent Padres in All-Star Game

Padres first baseman Adrian Gonzalez and reliever Heath Bell will be reserves in the 81st MLB All-Star Game, which will commence in about an hour.

Gonzalez obviously can’t start, given that there’s a certain Albert Pujols who also happens to play first base in the NL. There’s a case to be made that he actually doesn’t deserve to be on the team, as Joey Votto, Pujols, Adam Dunn, Aubrey Huff, and Prince Fielder all have higher wOBA marks at first. However, Gonzalez’s defense makes up for quite a bit of that, and he ranks behind only Votto in WAR, tied with Pujols for second.

Bell is the seventh-best reliever in the NL according to xFIP and is fourth in WAR, so he’s a solid choice, although his setup men, Luke Gregerson and Mike Adams, are every bit as deserving as he, if not more. It’s ridiculous to me that Arthur Rhodes made the team over those two–but it just happens that way sometimes.

Padres manager Bud Black is an NL coach in the game.

The Padres do have a lot to gain from the NL breaking their 13-loss streak in the All-Star Game. If they can find a way to make it to the World Series, playing at Petco four times with no DH will suit this team much better than playing at Yankee Stadium four times with a DH.