Four former Rochester Red Wings land in 2026 All-Star pool

Four former Rochester Red Wings were in Major League Baseball’s 2026 All-Star roster pool, a midseason nod that put James Wood, CJ Abrams, Luis Arráez and Byron Buxton on the same stage even as the Triple-A calendar kept moving. MLB unveiled the rosters on July 14, the day of the All-Star Game at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia, with All-Star Week running from July 10 through July 14.

The group gave Rochester a clear developmental fingerprint. Buxton and Arráez came through the Red Wings during the Minnesota Twins affiliation, while Abrams and Wood reached Rochester as major prospect pieces for the Washington Nationals. The mix showed two different paths to the same destination: one through years of climbing and rehab work, the other through fast-rising prospects who used Triple-A as the final stop before the majors.

Buxton’s Rochester time stretched across parts of four seasons from 2015 through 2018, a span that included both prospect development and rehab assignments. He was elected as one of the American League’s starting outfielders, but a right hip strain and impingement kept him out of the game, and MLB replaced him on the AL roster with Baltimore Orioles outfielder Colton Cowser. Aaron Judge was also elected as an AL starting outfielder but was unavailable to play.

Arráez earned his fourth career All-Star nod after spending 38 games with Rochester in 2019 and batting .348. Abrams’ stop was shorter but no less meaningful: after arriving in the Nationals organization in the August 2, 2022 Juan Soto and Josh Bell trade, he played eight games for Rochester, hit .290 and reached Washington later that month. Wood’s Triple-A run in Rochester was the loudest of the four, as he hit .353 with 10 home runs, 37 RBI and a 1.058 OPS in 52 games in 2024 before being promoted to Washington on July 1, 2024. MLB’s call-up coverage said he had 64 hits, 10 steals and a 1.036 OPS in 51 Triple-A games at the time of the promotion.

Rochester’s connection to that kind of talent is not new. The Red Wings Hall of Fame was established in 1989, and the franchise dates to 1899, a lineage that now includes a steady stream of players who have turned Triple-A seasoning into major league recognition. The same pattern showed up in 2025, when four former Red Wings also made the All-Star Game, turning Rochester’s role in baseball’s upper tier from coincidence into habit.