CLEVELAND — We Cleveland fans already know how great José Ramírez is, and now the entire baseball world is about to get a good look at one of the sport's brightest stars.
The Guardians third baseman will participate in the Home Run Derby on Monday as part of MLB All-Star Week in Los Angeles, the team announced Wednesday. ESPN's Jeff Passan was the first to report the news.
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While Ramírez will make his fourth appearance in the All-Star Game on Tuesday, this will be his first time in the derby. The Athletic's Zack Meisel says the 29-year-old has previously turned down opportunities to take part.
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J-Ram has more than earned that fourth All-Star nod in 2022, posting a .942 OPS with 17 homers and 3.5 bWAR while leading the American League with 30 doubles and 68 RBIs. He had been in contention to start at third base for the AL in the Midsummer Classic, but lost out in the final round of voting to Boston Red Sox counterpart Rafael Devers.
After a hot start to the season, Ramírez went through a slump after missing two games with a sore thumb, batting just .217 with only one RBI from June 21-July 8. It caused some to wonder if he was fully healthy, but in his last five outings he has recovered to hit .350 with a homer and five RBIs.
With Ramírez in, only one spot remains in the eight-player bracket. The other known participants are:
- Ronald Acuña Jr., Atlanta Braves
- Pete Alonso, New York Mets
- Albert Pujols, St. Louis Cardinals
- Julio Rodríguez, Seattle Mariners
- Kyle Schwarber, Philadelphia Phillies
- Juan Soto, Washington Nationals
No Cleveland Indians/Guardians player has ever won the Home Run Derby since its inception in 1985. Tribe slugger Albert Belle finished runner-up to Frank Thomas in 1995, as did Hall of Famer Jim Thome three years later to Ken Griffey Jr.