LOS ANGELES — The Home Run Derby will have a new champion this year.
Last year’s champ, Teoscar Hernandez, has decided not to participate this year.
“No, I’m not going to do it,” the Dodgers outfielder said of the July 14 event in Atlanta.
“Last year after I did it, all of this area (his upper legs) was tight and sore. This year, I had the injury over there. I don’t want to risk it. So just don’t do it. Be ready for the season, be part of the team and not get hurt doing the derby.”
Hernandez missed two weeks in May on the injured list after straining an adductor muscle in his left leg. The Home Run Derby which requires competitors to take max-effort swings repeatedly in timed rounds – and then more swings in the batting cage to stay ready if they advance – is more taxing than observers realize, he said.
“It is,” he said. “I wasn’t tired at the end or the next day. But i was really sore. I think if your body is not ready, 100 percent, it can cost you an injury. So I don’t want to risk it. I’d rather be healthy and be playing the regular season.
“Good luck to the ones who are going to participate.”
Hernandez’s teammate, Shohei Ohtani, won’t be one of those despite leading the National League with 29 home runs. Ohtani cited the Derby format as making it unlikely he would participate.
“He’s coming back from Tommy John, trying to be healthy for the team, be healthy all year, trying to pitch for the team. So I don’t think he’s going to do it,” Hernandez said.
Hernandez was off to a great start, batting .315 with a .933 OPS and major-league-leading 34 RBIs when he was injured during a series in May. Going into Tuesday’s game, he had hit just .206 with a .626 OPS and only 19 RBIs in 36 games since returning from the IL.
Hernandez said he is back to full strength and won’t blame the injury for his extended slump.
“It’s more about timing,” he said. “My body feels 100 percent from the injury or any other part of my body. It’s just hard to make adjustments during the season, injuries or not. Just credit to the pitchers.
“I’m one of those guys who if I get hurt … I take the time it’s going to take. Once I get back, I’m back. I don’t think about it. I try to do everything normal, do everything the same way, give my 100 percent. Right now, it’s just baseball. It’s not going the way i want but I’m going to keep working.”
HAPPY BIRTHDAY
Shohei Ohtani is scheduled to make his next pitching start on Saturday – his 31st birthday.
Ohtani will be paired with left-hander Justin Wrobleski in a ‘bulk’ role this time. Right-hander Ben Casparius followed Ohtani in the two-way player’s first three starts, but Casparius will pitch Friday in some capacity (likely after an opener).
Sunday’s starter against the Houston Astros is currently “TBD” but it could be right-hander Emmet Sheehan. Sheehan was scheduled to pitch Tuesday night for Triple-A Oklahoma City. He pitched six perfect innings, striking out 13 of the 18 batters he faced, in his previous start with OKC after being sent down by the Dodgers on June 18 and will be eligible to be recalled on Sunday.
That moves Yoshinobu Yamamoto back to Monday in Milwaukee on five days of rest followed by Clayton Kershaw and Dustin May.
DAY OFF
Shortstop Mookie Betts was not in the starting lineup Tuesday. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said it was “to be quite honest, probably more of a mental day” for Betts who has been “grinding” in an extended slump of his own. Betts is 12 for his past 70 (.171) in his past 18 games and hasn’t homered since June 8.
On pace for his worst offensive season in what figures to be his first full season at shortstop, Roberts still does not believe the two are related.
“I just can’t see that you go out there and stick him in right field tonight and he’s going to throw out two hits or three hits, or he goes to second base and he’s going to go on a heater,” Roberts said. “That’s hard for me to kind of imagine, but it’s a fair ask. I just don’t see that as the case.”
INJURED LIST
Right-hander Michael Kopech went back on the IL on Tuesday, this time with right knee inflammation. Kopech received an injection in the knee.
Kopech opened the season on the IL with a shoulder issue. He made eight appearances after being activated, pitching seven scoreless innings.
Right-hander Will Klein was recalled from Triple-A Oklahoma City to take Kopech’s spot on the roster.
FUTURE STARS
Teammates at Class-A Great Lakes, outfielders Josue DePaula and Zyhir Hope, have been selected to represent the Dodgers on the National League team at the All-Star Futures Game to be played on July 12 at Truist Park in Atlanta.
DePaula is batting .269 with a team-leading 10 home runs and an .852 OPS at Great Lakes this season. Acquired in the trade that sent Michael Busch and Yency Almonte to the Chicago Cubs, Hope is batting .297 with an .864 OPS, seven home runs, 46 RBIs and 11 stolen bases.
Both are ranked in Baseball America’s Top 100 prospects in baseball this year.
ALSO
Six weeks after being released by the Dodgers, veteran catcher Austin Barnes has a new job. Barnes signed a minor-league contract with the San Francisco Giants.
The 35-year-old Barnes has been assigned to the Giants’ Arizona Complex League team for now.
UP NEXT
White Sox (RHP Sean Burke, 4-7, 4.22 ERA) at Dodgers (LHP Clayton Kershaw, 4-0, 3.03 ERA), Wednesday, 7:10 p.m., SportsNet LA, MLB Network (out of market only), 570 AM