Red Sox first baseman Willson Contreras and Royals outfielder Jac Caglianone are the latest sluggers to commit to participating in the Home Run Derby on Monday in Philadelphia.
Contreras and the 23-year-old Caglianone, who hit nine of his 14 home runs in June, join Tampa Bay's Junior Caminero and New York Yankees slugger Ben Rice as official entrants into the Home Run Derby.
The 34-year-old Contreras has 20 homers in 306 at-bats, which stands just a few shy of the career best of 24 he had for the Chicago Cubs in 2019. He is looking to become the first Red Sox player to win a Home Run Derby since David Ortiz in 2010.
The No. 6 pick in the 2024 draft, the left-handed hitting Caglianone has only 21 career home runs in his two seasons, but he's known for his power, with his average home run distance of 418 feet tied atop the majors this season with Colorado's Mickey Moniak for players with more than 10 homers.
It will be the first appearance in the event for Caglianone, who was not selected as an All-Star. In his first full season, he is hitting .258/.322/.455 (77-for-299) with 33 RBIs in 85 games.
He will be the sixth Royals hitter to compete in the Home Run Derby, joining Bo Jackson (1989), Danny Tartabull (1991), Mike Moustakas (2017), Salvador Perez (2021) and Bobby Witt Jr. (2024).
Witt was the runner-up in 2024 when he hit 50 home runs in total. He hit 13 HRs in the final round, one shy of Teoscar Hernandez.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
