Yasmani Grandal Talks About All-Star Selection, Canceled Plans

Through the first 84 games of the 2015 season, the Los Angeles Dodgers 47 wins ranks fourth in Major League Baseball and is good enough for a five-game lead in the National League West over the San Francisco Giants.

Some of that success can be credited to a trade the Dodgers made in the offseason, giving up Matt Kemp and Tim Federowicz to the San Diego Padres receiving catcher Yasmani Grandal and two prospects in return.

Grandal has showed what the Dodgers front office saw in him, batting .271 with 13 homers, 34 RBIs and a .384 on-base percentage this season. The 26-year-old was rewarded for his success, and he found out on Monday that he made the National League All-Star team. “I’m just very excited,” Grandal said. “To play in the All-Star Game is something that I’ve been looking forward to. Obviously you look up to a lot of guys that have played in the All-Star Game and now it’s nice I get to be a part of it.”

He went on to add that he had to cancel the plans he made for the All-Star break, something he didn’t mind doing. “I already had tickets to go to Vegas so we were waiting for it and if it happened great, we would cancel everything, and if it didn’t then we were just going to head out with a couple of friends to Vegas and spend a few days there before we head out to Arizona.”

Grandal was one of four Dodgers to make the team, as he will be joined by Zack Greinke, Adrian Gonzalez and Joc Pederson. The team could also possibly send a fifth representative if Clayton Kershaw wins the final vote that will be announced on Friday.

One of the things that Grandal will be looking forward to is possibly watching Pederson hit in the Home Run Derby. “Hopefully he gets to go in the Home Run Derby. He’s got that home run pop so if he does that, then I’ll be a little bit more excited.”

The Dodgers will complete their four-game series against the Philadelphia Phillies and a three-game series with the Milwaukee Brewers before the All-Star break begins. The Home Run Derby will take place on Monday, July 13 followed by the game on Tuesday, July 14.