Every year when the MLB All-Star rosters are announced, players (and fans of those players) talk about being snubbed from the team.

Some players have been snubbed for their entire careers.

After looking at the best players in the NBA never to make an All-Star team, let’s build a 25-man roster of MLB players that never made it. This roster only takes into account players who debuted in 1990 or after. For active players, they must have appeared in at least parts of 10 seasons to be eligible.

Apologies go to Bobby Higginson, Shannon Stewart, Joe Randa, Orlando Cabrera, Juan Uribe, Richard Hidalgo, Casey Blake, David DeJesus, Denard Span, Bernard Gilkey, Scott Erickson, Rich Harden, Aaron Harang, Kyle Lohse, Octavio Dotel, John Axford, Ryan Madson, Luke Gregorson, and Kevin Gregg who were all also heavily considered.

Starting lineup

  • 1. Juan Pierre, CF

A key part of the Marlins’ 2003 World Series-winning team, Pierre’s 614 career steals rank 18th all-time. He also led the NL in hits twice.

  • 2. Eric Chavez, 3B

A six-time Gold Glove winner, Chavez also won a Silver Slugger in 2002. He had four seasons with over 100 RBIs and slugged 260 home runs.

  • 3. Eric Karros, 1B

The 1992 NL Rookie of the Year, Karros won a Silver Slugger in 1995 (also finished fifth in NL MVP voting that year). He had five seasons with over 30 homers and hit 284 for his career.

  • 4. Travis Hafner, DH

Hafner led the AL with a 1.097 OPS in 2006 and had an excellent career mark of .874. He drove in at least 100 runs for four straight years from 2004-07.

  • 5. Tim Salmon, RF

Salmon won a World Series with the Angels in 2002, earned a Silver Slugger in 2005, and was the 2003 AL Rookie of the Year. He finished his career with 299 home runs and 1,016 RBIs.

  • 6. Pat Burrell, LF

During his career, Burrell hit at least 30 homers four times, had triple-digit RBI totals twice. He won two World Series titles as well (one each with the Phillies and Giants).

  • 7. John Valentin, SS

In 1995, Valentin won a Silver Slugger and finished ninth in AL MVP voting. He led the AL with 47 doubles in 1997, and he hit over .300 twice.

  • 8. Bengie Molina, C

A Gold Glove winner in 2002 and 2003, Molina won a World Series as a member of the Angels in 2002 (drove in six runs that postseason). He hit 113 home runs with 507 RBIs in the seven seasons from 2003-09.

  • 9. Mark Ellis, 2B

Ellis played 12 seasons in the majors and performed more than admirably in the field despite never winning a Gold Glove. He was no slouch at the plate either as he racked up 1,343 hits.

Bench

  • Kendrys Morales, DH/1B

Morales finished fifth in AL MVP voting in 2009 and won a Silver Slugger in 2015. He had two seasons with at least 30 home runs and two with 100 RBIs.

  • Josh Reddick, RF

Reddick was a 2012 Gold Glove winner and a 2017 World Series winner with the Astros. According to Baseball-Reference, he’s had two seasons worth at least 4.5 WAR and another two over three.

  • Jose Valentin, SS

Valentin never appeared in an All-Star Game. For his career, he connected on 249 homers, stole 136 bases, and drove in 816 runs.

  • Mike Matheny, C

There are probably more-deserving candidates to make the team, but a backup catcher is needed so four-time Gold Glove winner Matheny is the choice. Other options for the backup catcher include Francisco Cervelli and Welington Castillo.

Starting rotation

  • Anibal Sanchez

Sanchez led the AL with a 2.57 ERA in 2013 and was a member of the 2019 World Series champion Nationals team. He has won 108 games in his career with an ERA under four. Scout projects him as the 44th-ranked starting pitcher in fantasy baseball this year (if there is a season).

  • Alex Fernandez

A member of the 1997 Marlins team that won the World Series, Fernandez finished sixth in AL Cy Young voting in 1996. In a five-year stretch from 1993-97, his record was 74-46.

  • 3. Carlos Carrasco

In 10 MLB seasons, Carrasco has a career record of 85-69 with a 3.82 ERA and 1.20 WHIP. His 18 wins in 2017 were tied for the most in the AL.

  • 4. Orlando Hernandez

A four-time World Series winner with the Yankees, Hernandez truly succeeded in the postseason. He was the 1999 ALCS MVP and went an impressive 9-3 with a 2.55 ERA in 19 playoff games (14 starts).

  • 5. Rick Porcello

The 2016 AL Cy Young winner, Porcello has averaged over 30 starts in his 11 seasons. He’s won 149 games and has reached double figures in wins in all but one season.

Bullpen

  • Mike Timlin

Pitching 18 years in the big leagues, Timlin won four World Series in his career (two with the Blue Jays, two with the Red Sox).

His 1,058 appearances are the eighth-most in MLB history, and he saved 141 games.

  • Rafael Betancourt

In 680 appearances, Betancourt had a solid 4.41 strikeout-to-walk ratio. With the Rockies in 2010-11, he walked just 16 hitters while striking out 162.

  • Joaquin Benoit

A starter to begin his career, Benoit had a fantastic transition into the bullpen. From 2010-16, he owned a 2.40 ERA, 0.98 WHIP, and struck out 10 batters per nine innings.

  • Brad Ziegler

He didn’t make his debut until the age of 28 in 2008, but that season he pitched to a microscopic 1.06 ERA in 59.2 innings. He saved 105 games during the course of his career and had an ERA under three in six out of his first nine seasons.

  • Steve Reed

Despite pitching his home games at Coors Field, Reed ended 1995 with a 2.14 ERA and 0.98 WHIP.

Other than his last year in the big leagues in 2005, in all other 13 seasons, his ERA+ was over 100.

  • Santiago Casilla

A member of all three Giants teams that won the World Series in the 2010s, Casilla gave up just two earned runs in 19.2 postseason innings. In his career, he saved 144 games and three different years finished with an ERA under two.

  • Steve Cishek

Making his MLB debut in 2010, Cishek has never ended a year with an ERA over 3.58. He has 132 saves in his career with an ERA of 2.69.
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