Phillies left-hander Cole Hamels is on the mound this afternoon against the Braves and won’t be eligible to pitch in Tuesday’s All-Star Game. His replacement: Kevin Correia, of the surprising Pittsburgh Pirates.
Correia, 30, has gone 11-7 with a 4.01 ERA and 1.28 WHIP through 19 starts with the Bucs this season. Those are hardly All-Star numbers -- especially when you look beyond the win total -- but the rosters on both sides have been ravaged by injuries and it’s only appropriate that a member of Pittsburgh’s overachieving staff gets to go.
Correia was signed to a bargain two-year, $8 million contract this past December.
The news was announced Sunday by the Pirates’ official Twitter account. With Andrew McCutchen and Joel Hanrahan also headed to Phoenix, the Bucs boast three All-Stars for the first time since 1990.