Cristopher Sánchez's All-Star saga continues. Or rather, his non-All-Star saga. After being one of three Philadelphia Phillies players left out of the 2025 MLB All-Star Game, the left-hander's latest snub comes at the hands of rival New York Mets right-hander David Peterson, who was named to his first All-Star Game on Thursday, per MLB.com's Anthony DiComo.
Since being passed over for the National League when the All-Star rosters were announced on Sunday, Sánchez has been snubbed more than once as multiple replacements have been named to the Midsummer Classic.
First it was the Cincinnati Reds' Andrew Abbott who got the call. As biased as we are as Phillies fans, it's fair to say that Abbott's spectacular season (8-1, 2.07 ERA) deserves recognition. But now it's getting absurd.
Cristopher Sánchez All-Star snub is getting ridiculous after MLB names David Peterson as replacement
With Peterson the newest replacement named to the NL pitching staff, wow, does this one stink. In no universe is Peterson more deserving than Sánchez for a spot on the All-Star squad. Just based on their basic stats, they're not even in the same league this season.
Whichever way you want to slice it and dice it, Sánchez (7-2, 2.59 ERA, 116 strikeouts) should be well ahead of Peterson (6-4, 3.06 ERA, 93 strikeouts) in the All-Star pecking order.
Grace Del Pizzo of On Pattison shared this eye-opening comparison of the two starters (stats are from before Peterson's start on Thursday):
I am genuinely trying hard to think of a good reason why David Peterson was chosen to be an All-Star over Cristopher Sánchez.
— Grace Del Pizzo (@GraceDelPizzo) July 10, 2025
I’m trying REALLY really hard.
But I got nothing. pic.twitter.com/mv4n1JSumS
How can MLB justify this egregious snub? The fact that Sánchez is lined up to start the Phillies' final game of the first half on Sunday, essentially making him unavailable to pitch in the All-Star Game, shouldn't have anything to do with the decision.
Forgetting that Phillies shortstop Trea Turner was somehow left off the All-Star roster, Sánchez might be the most obvious snub still without an invitation. At this point, it looks like his incredible season will go without recognition, which is a travesty. Which is the point his agent, Gene Mato, made on X this week.
Cristopher Sánchez’s agent roasts MLB after multiple All-Star snubs
Mato jumped into the All-Star snub debate with a vengeance on Thursday, defending his client by expressing the shared thoughts of every outraged Phillies fan.
"Cristopher Sanchez being left off the All-Star team is a travesty," Matto posted. "The numbers, cannot be ignored, even if he is scheduled to start on Sunday. Something has to change MLB."
Cristopher Sanchez @phillies, being left off the All-Star team is a travesty. The numbers, cannot be ignored, even if he is scheduled to start on Sunday. Something has to change @MLB
— gene mato (@genemato) July 10, 2025
Whether MLB and the NL coaching staff right this injustice this weekend remains to be seen. The right thing to do is to name Sánchez to his second All-Star Game, and then name his replacement — which should be his teammate Ranger Suárez.
Suárez has been lights out since coming off the IL. Despite allowing seven runs in his season debut, he has been pitching at a Cy Young level in 11 starts since then. He's 7-2 and has a 1.99 ERA and 1.03 WHIP in 77 innings. Even though he missed the first month of the season, Suárez has already amassed more bWAR (3.3) than Peterson's 2.2.
MLB has a couple more days to fix their error. Let's hope they get it right.