The list of participants in the 2025 Home Run Derby is starting to take shape. While Cincinnati Reds shortstop Elly De La Cruz and Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Teoscar Hernandez have already declined invites to the competition, Seattle Mariners Cal Raleigh and Atlanta Braves outfielder Ronald Acuña Jr. have accepted theirs.
The players near the top of MLB's home run leaderboard are the ones who will likely receive invites next. And with 29 home runs on the season, Dodgers two-way player Shohei Ohtani is second in the league in round-trippers behind Raleigh, who has 32.
Ohtani has participated in the Home Run Derby once in his eight-year career. In 2021, he matched up with then-Washington Nationals outfielder Juan Soto in the first round of the eight-batter event and was eliminated by a score of 31 to 28. He declined his invite last year, citing rehab from his elbow surgery during the 2023 offseason as the reasoning for his non-participation.
After the Dodgers' game against the Kansas City Royals on Saturday, during which he started on the mound and threw two scoreless innings, Ohtani confirmed that he likely will not be participating in this year's Home Run Derby.
"With the current rules in place, I don't think it's feasible for me to be able to compete well," Ohtani said through his interpreter Will Ireton, via Spectrum SportsNet LA.
