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Vladimir Guerrero Jr., turned down an invitation to participate in next month’s Home Run Derby, not wanting to risk a flare-up of the left wrist soreness he experienced back in May.
The Toronto Blue Jays slugger is on track to start in the July 19 all-star game at Dodger Stadium, leading all American League first basemen with more than 1.6 million votes, nearly double the tally of his closest competitor, Ty France of the Seattle Mariners.
Given the show Guerrero put on as a rookie in the 2019 derby — when he hit a record 91 total homers before falling one shy of champion Pete Alonso in the final round — he’s an obvious choice for the power showcase, too.
But he skipped last year’s derby to manage his workload ahead of the second half (he ended up winning all-star game MVP honours) and declined again this year after left wrist soreness forced him from the starting lineup May 29 at the Los Angeles Angels.
“My wrist is fine right now but I’ve got to be careful — there are too many swings in a home run derby,” Guerrero said through interpreter Hector Lebron after hitting a two-run homer in Monday’s 7-2 win over the Boston Red Sox.