The full squad for the MLB All-Star Team was announced Friday for the upcoming five-game All-Star Series in Japan.
Boston Red Sox manager John Farrell’s 29-man roster will be star-studded, including Salvador Perez of Kansas City, Evan Longoria of Tampa Bay, Robinson Cano of Seattle and Yasiel Puig of the Los Angeles Dodgers.
A longtime tradition dating back to 1986, the All-Star Series — partially due to the emergence of the World Baseball Classic — has been on hiatus since an MLB team last crossed the Pacific in 2006.
Major League Baseball and the MLB Players Association announced the roster for the series beginning next week against against “Samurai Japan” — Japan’s National Team.
The 29-man roster consists of 14 pitchers, three catchers, seven infielders, three outfielders and two infielders/outfielders.
The pitching staff includes Jeff Beliveau (Tampa Bay); Jerry Blevins (Washington); 2006 All-Star Chris Capuano (New York Yankees); Randy Choate (St. Louis); Jeremy Guthrie (Kansas City); Tommy Hunter (Baltimore); Tokyo native and 2013 All-Star Hisashi Iwakuma (Seattle); 2013 All-Star Mark Melancon (Pittsburgh); Franklin Morales (Colorado); Hector Santiago (Los Angeles Angels); Matt Shoemaker (Angels); Jose Veras (Houston); Aichi native Tsuyoshi Wada (Chicago Cubs); and Rob Wooten (Milwaukee).
The three catchers are Drew Butera (Dodgers), Erik Kratz (Kansas City) and two-time All-Star Salvador Perez (Kansas City).
The position players consist of 2014 AL batting champion and two-time All-Star Jose Altuve (Houston); six-time All-Star Robinson Cano (Seattle); Chris Carter (Houston); Lucas Duda (New York Mets); Alcides Escobar (Kansas City); Dexter Fowler (Houston); three-time All-Star Evan Longoria (Tampa Bay); 2014 NL batting champion and four-time All-Star Justin Morneau (Colorado); Eduardo Nunez (Minnesota); 2014 All-Star Yasiel Puig (Dodgers); Carlos Santana (Cleveland); and two-time All-Star Ben Zobrist (Tampa Bay).
All-Star Series games will be hosted in Osaka (Kyocera Dome), Tokyo (Tokyo Dome) and Sapporo (Sapporo Dome). Two exhibition games will complement the five-game series, with one game in Osaka (Koshien Stadium) and the other in Okinawa (Okinawa Cellular Stadium).
MLB Network will televise every game of the Japan All-Star Series live in the United States, beginning with the exhibition game on Tuesday at 4 a.m. ET.
The five-game series takes place from Wednesday through Nov. 18, with travel days on Thursday and Nov. 17 and exhibitions on Tuesday and Nov. 20.
The complete schedule:
–Tuesday: Exhibition game vs. Hanshin Tigers/Yomiuri Giants at Koshien Stadium, Osaka (4 a.m. ET).
–Wednesday: Game No. 1 at Kyocera Dome, Osaka (4 a.m. ET).
–Thursday: Travel day.
–Friday, Nov. 14: Game No. 2 at Tokyo Dome, Tokyo (4 a.m. ET).
–Saturday, Nov. 15: Game No. 3 at Tokyo Dome, Tokyo (4 a.m. ET).
–Sunday, Nov. 16: Game No. 4 at Tokyo Dome, Tokyo (4 a.m. ET).
–Monday, Nov. 17: Travel day.
–Tuesday, Nov. 18: Game No. 5 at Sapporo Dome, Sapporo (5 a.m. ET).
–Wednesday, Nov. 19: Travel day.
–Thursday, Nov. 20: Exhibition game vs. Samurai Japan, Okinawa Cellular Stadium, Okinawa (4 a.m. ET).