Blue Jays' Vladimir Guerrero Jr. to Participate in 2023 MLB Home Run Derby

Vladimir Guerrero Jr. will be joining Julio Rodríguez in this year's Home Run Derby.

Major League Baseball announced Thursday that the Toronto Blue Jays slugger was entering the event for the second time:

Guerrero, 24, first participated in the Derby in 2019, blasting an event-record 91 home runs, which included an incredible 40 dingers in the second round while he faced Joc Pederson.

Somewhat anticlimactically, he lost to New York Mets' slugger Pete Alonso in the finals, 23-22. Still, it was one of the most memorable Home Run Derbies in the history of the event.

This year he's had his struggles, hitting .280 with 11 homers, 49 RBI, 35 runs and just a .796 OPS. For many players, those numbers would be very solid entering July, but for a player who ripped 48 homers in 2021 with a 1.002 OPS, and 32 homers last year with a .818 OPS, it's something of a down year.

Granted, there's plenty of time for Guerrero to get hot. Perhaps another huge Derby performance will be the jolt he needs.

He'll join the 22-year-old Rodríguez, one of the ascending superstars in all of baseball. Last year's AL Rookie of the Year is hitting .241 for the Seattle Mariners this season with 13 homers, 42 RBI, 47 runs, 18 stolen bases and a .720 OPS.

It will be Rodríguez's second-straight Derby. He hit the most homers in last year's event, with 81, but lost in the finals to Juan Soto (19-18).

"I was so excited. I feel like it'll be like a dream coming true," he told reporters last week about participating in front of Seattle fans. "L.A. was cool, I enjoyed it, but being able to be at home and put on a show for the Mariners fans, I know it'll be really exciting.

"It was a no-brainer for me," he added. "This will probably never happen again in my career, so to be able to do that for them, on the home field, it definitely will be something that I am looking forward to."

This year's Home Run Derby will take place on July 10 in Seattle. ESPN will broadcast the event.