David Wright of the New York Mets will replace injured Alfonso Soriano of the Chicago Cubs on the National League All-Star roster.

All-Star manager Clint Hurdle of the Colorado Rockies made the announcement yesterday. Colorado outfielder Matt Holliday, originally selected as a reserve, will replace Soriano in the starting lineup.

Soriano, on the disabled list since June 12 with a broken left hand, will attend the festivities.

Wright, who is batting .288 with 17 home runs and 70 RBIs, will be making his third consecutive appearance in the All-Star game. Wright was a fan-elected starter in 2006 and 2007.

Playing in New York will make it "100 times more special," said Wright, who learned he was on the team hours after he lost a fan vote for what would've been the last spot.

"To be able to come up through this system, be a Mets fan when I was a kid, to be able to close down Yankee Stadium in the last All-Star game, makes it special," he added. "It's something I wanted pretty badly."

Wright planned to thank Hurdle in person, since the Rockies and Mets played yesterday. Hurdle said picking Wright over Philadelphia's Pat Burrell, San Francisco's Aaron Rowand and Houston's Carlos Lee had nothing to do with the game being in New York. He wanted Wright's bat against the American League's left-handed pitching and needed another infielder more than an outfielder.

RANGERS

The Texas Rangers pitching staff took another spin yesterday when the club sent Scott Feldman and Wes Littleton to the minors and called up Kameron Loe and Joselo Diaz from their farm system.

Diaz will be the 26th pitcher used by the Rangers this season when he makes his debut with Texas.

Littleton was sent back to Triple-A Oklahoma after being called up from that club on Wednesday. Feldman was optioned to Double-A Frisco.

Loe begins his third stint with Texas this season. He's made 19 appearances for Oklahoma with a 2-4 record and 5.59 ERA. Diaz went 1-0 with four saves and a 3.95 ERA in eight relief appearances for Frisco.

ELSEWHERE

Angels: Los Angeles right-hander Kelvim Escobar will have season-ending surgery to repair a torn labrum in his pitching shoulder. Escobar and the Angels made the decision yesterday.

Nationals: Outfielder Roger Bernadina was optioned to Triple-A Columbus by Washington, ending a two-week experiment that saw the rookie jump from Double-A to the majors, where he hit .125 (5 for 40) and scored two runs in 10 games.