Yankees' Carlos Rodon replaces Max Fried on All-Star team

Hey now — he’s an All-Star.

Carlos Rodon became the fourth Yankee selected to the American League All-Star team, Major League Baseball announced on Friday. Aaron Judge, Jazz Chisholm Jr. and Max Fried already had been chosen.

And Rodon pitched like an All-Star on Friday night, striking out eight in eight innings in the Yankees’ 11-0 win over the Cubs.

“It’s an honor for me and to represent the Yankees,” said Rodon, who improved to 10-6 with a 3.08 ERA after allowing four hits and walking one. “They have confidence in me . . . [and] think I’m good enough. Today, you just want to go out there and perform and get a win.”

He added: “This one is special for me. I wasn’t good when I first got here, and I just wanted to prove that I wasn’t going to give up and just put my best foot forward and try to win as many games as I can.”

With Fried pitching on Saturday, a replacement was needed so he would not be taking the mound on short rest in Tuesday’s All-Star Game in Atlanta. Rodon was the choice. Fried won’t pitch but will be part of the festivities.

Rodon actually found out about his honor the night before when manager Aaron Boone — who will manage the All-Star team — summoned him to tell him.

“I got to tell him last night and I know he’s excited about it,” Boone said.

This is Rodon’s third time being selected to an All-Star team. He played for the AL as a representative of the White Sox in 2021 and played with the NL as a representative of San Francisco in 2022.

It was after his outstanding season with the Giants that the Yankees signed him as a free agent to a six-year, $162 million contract. His debut season was a major disappointment as injuries limited him to 14 starts and he went 3-8 with a 6.85 ERA.

Rodon was much improved last season, going 16-9 with a 3.96 ERA, and has been even more reliable this season.

“[It’s] just a testament to perseverance and . . . kind of dusting yourself off and getting back up,’’ Boone said. “Obviously, [he was] a big signing for us a few years ago and it didn’t go well. [He] struggled and just leaned into all of it. [He] played a huge role in helping us have a season last year that got to the World Series, and then this year has had an All-Star first half.”

Fried, who is 11-2 with a 2.27 ERA, looked like a contender to be anointed the starting pitcher for the AL. When it was decided that he would not pitch in the game, MLB chose Rodon as the replacement. Boone did not get to select him.

Asked about the decision for Fried not to pitch in Atlanta — where he played for eight seasons before signing with the Yankees — Boone said it was mostly about the “short turnaround” after his scheduled appearance on Saturday against the Cubs.

Rodon’s overall body of work this season has been good, but it hasn’t been without dips.

Through four starts, he was 1-3 with a 5.48 ERA; the culprits in those 23 innings were 12 walks and five home runs allowed. In his next nine starts, he allowed only three home runs in 56 2⁄3 innings and went 7-0 with a 1.27 ERA.

Since then, however, he had gone 1-3 with a 5.34 ERA in six games before Friday’s gem, allowing seven home runs and 13 walks in 32 innings.

Said Boone, “[I’m] just really proud of what he’s become as a pitcher, the adversity he’s faced head on and dealt with and . . . . it was pretty cool [Thursday] to be able to give him that news.”

By Roger Rubin

roger.rubin@newsday.com@rogrubin

Roger Rubin returned to Newsday in 2018 to write about high schools, colleges and baseball following 20 years at the Daily News. A Baseball Hall of Fame voter since 2011, he has covered 13 MLB postseasons and 14 NCAA Final Fours.