Braves reliever A.J. Minter won’t tell him directly — “You don’t bring that stuff up,” he said — but he really wants his throwing partner Jesse Chavez to be an All-Star.
“There’s no reason why Jesse shouldn’t be in the All-Star Game,” Minter told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “He’s earned it. Don’t just give it to him just because he’s 39 and he’s having one of his best years. He’s earned it, to be in the position he has. Hopefully we can make it happen for him.”
Same thing with starter Charlie Morton.
“I think it’s very well-deserving,” Morton told the AJC. “And I think everybody in the clubhouse would be extremely proud and happy for him. I don’t think it’s even a question. That would be awesome. I mean, I’ve thought about that and hoped that for him.”
Manager Brian Snitker is a little more realistic, knowing that starters and closers typically are the ones to make up All-Star pitching staffs. Chavez is neither of those, his role being trusted do-it-all problem solver in the Braves bullpen.