Rays’ Yandy Diaz, Randy Arozarena advance in All-Star Game voting

ST. PETERSBURG — Rays first baseman Yandy Diaz and outfielder Randy Arozarena advanced to the runoff election to earn starting spots on the American League All-Star team.

Diaz is competing with Toronto’s Vladimir Guerrero Jr. in the second round of voting, which runs from Monday at noon to noon on June 29, with results to be announced that night. Guerrero received 1,632,519 votes in the first round, Diaz 1,567,748.

“Especially after all the sacrifices I made to get here, I’ll be very excited (if I’m selected),” Diaz, who defected from Cuba in 2013, said through team interpreter Manny Navarro.

Arozarena is competing with five others for the three outfield spots, having finished third in the first round with 1,564,098 votes. He was behind the Yankees’ Aaron Judge (2,095,328) and Angels’ Mike Trout (1,604,762), and ahead of the Astros’ Yordan Alvarez (1,453,698), Blue Jays’ (and ex-Ray) Kevin Kiermaier (960,953) and Rangers’ Adolis Garcia (880,711).

Six Rays have been elected starters in the team’s first 25 seasons. Catcher Wilson Ramos was the most recent in 2018, though he was injured and couldn’t play. Other elected Rays starters were: Jose Canseco (1999), Evan Longoria (2009-10), Carl Crawford (2010) and Corey Dickerson (2017). Canseco and Longoria (2009) also were injured and unable to play.

Voting is done via team and league apps and websites, including MLB.com/vote; first-round totals don’t carry over.

Reserves and pitchers, chosen mostly by a league-wide vote of players, will be announced on July 2. The game will be played July 11 in Seattle.

Injury updates on Raley, Diaz

Outfielder Luke Raley said he was headed for additional imaging Thursday night on his sore right hand, having been hit by a pitch in the first inning but remaining in the game. He said initial X-rays were negative.

“He is banged up a little bit,” manager Kevin Cash said. “He stayed in the game, but it doesn’t feel good right now.”

Diaz tripped on his way from second to third in the fifth inning and was slow to get up after being thrown out. Cash briefly indicated Diaz would come out of the game, but then Diaz said he was OK. Diaz said later that he tripped — joking there were rocks in the basepath. He said he felt some pain in his cranky left hip but was OK staying in.

Royal return for Quatraro, Hoover

Former Rays field coordinator Paul Hoover returned to Tropicana Field for the first time since departing for Kansas City in November 2022. The first-year Royals bench coach shared the spotlight with manager and former Rays bench coach Matt Quatraro, who also made his first trip back.

Ahead of Thursday’s matchup, Hoover sent catcher Christian Bethancourt a text telling him to get his pregame work in. He may have been kidding, but Hoover was serious about developing Bethancourt as a catcher when he was acquired in 2022.

Hoover took data and showed Bethancourt what he needed to focus on as a catcher. Bethancourt, who was a first baseman when he arrived in Tampa Bay, said Hoover was important to his defensive development.

“I needed to get a lot of work and make a lot of improvements, especially since I wasn’t catching at all,” Bethancourt said. “He and the catching people, they showed me a lot of numbers, a lot of stuff that I had never even heard of before. … He did work with me and helped me overcome that.”

Hoover played seven seasons in the big leagues with three teams, including the Rays. He was the Rays’ minor-league catching coordinator before becoming the major-league field coordinator in 2018.

Miscellany

Arozarena has reached base in 32 consecutive home games. ... The Rays are now 13-14 in one-run games. ... Relievers Andrew Kittredge (Tommy John surgery) and Calvin Faucher (elbow inflammation will throw their first live batting practice session Friday in Sarasota, with second baseman Brandon Lowe (herniated disc) among the hitters. ... Bally TV’s Dewayne Staats and Brian Anderson will broadcast Friday’s game from the Randy Land seats beyond leftfield. ... Top infield prospect Curtis Mead played for the Florida Complex League team Thursday, his first action since sustaining a small fracture in his left wrist on April 29.

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