After losing in the first round of the 2022 Home Run Derby, Jose Ramirez will be swinging for the fences once again this year in Arlington.
The Cleveland Guardians star announced Tuesday that he will be competing in the 2024 Derby, bringing the field to six.
Ramirez took to X, formerly Twitter, to make the announcement, saying, "Let's run it back" in a post.
The 31-year-old has been having an excellent season for the AL Central-leading Guardians, slashing .269/.320/.526 with 23 home runs through 86 games.
In the 2022 contest, Ramirez hits left Dodger Stadium 17 times in the head-to-head format, losing out to then-Washington Nationals star and eventual Derby champ Juan Soto.
After swinging right-handed in his first go-round at the Home Run Derby due to a thumb injury, we might see the switch-hitter flip around and swing from the left side this year.
Ramirez has traditionally hit for more power as a lefty, smacking 15 of his 23 homers in 2024 and 165 of his 239 career dingers from the left-handed batter's box.
The Bani, Dominican Republic native, is looking to become the first Cleveland hitter to win the event. Only Ramirez, Carlos Santana, Jim Thome and Albert Belle have ever competed.
With Ramirez's commitment, he joins Bobby Witt Jr., Pete Alonso, Gunnar Henderson, Alec Bohm and Marcell Ozuna as participants, with two more players to be announced in the eight-man field.
There will be four more competitors announced in the coming week as the Home Run Derby adopts a new format for 2024.
The first round of the eight-batter tournament will no longer be a head-to-head bracket and instead will advance the four top scorers to the semifinals. Ties will be broken by the longest home run amongst batters in the first round, with three-minute rounds preceding the two-minute round in the finals.
The 2024 derby is set for July 15, starting at 8 p.m. ET / 5 p.m. PT and can be seen on Sportsnet and Sportsnet+.
