Kyle Schwarber and rookie Munetaka Murakami fill out 8-man field for Home Run Derby

Phillies slugger Kyle Schwarber and Chicago White Sox rookie Munetaka Murakami were named Friday as participants in the Home Run Derby, filling out the eight-man field for the contest in Philadelphia on Monday night.

The 33-year-old Schwarber, who leads the majors with 32 homers, had been expected to participate on his home field.

Murakami was a surprise because he had missed more than a month with a strained right hamstring. The White Sox made the announcement when he returned to action Friday night.

Murakami, who was also named Friday as an All-Star injury replacement, has 20 homers this season and will join Shohei Ohtani (2021) as the only Japanese-born players to participate in the derby.

Schwarber will be joined by teammate Bryce Harper, with both trying to put on a show for the crowd at Citizens Bank Park.

Boston’s Willson Contreras, Kansas City’s Jac Caglianone, Tampa Bay’s Junior Caminero, St. Louis’ Jordan Walker and the New York Yankees’ Ben Rice are the other participants.

Schwarber, a four-time All-Star, has 219 homers since 2022, trailing only Aaron Judge (227) over that span.

This will be Schwarber’s third appearance in the derby. He made the finals in 2018 at Nationals Park before losing to Harper and was also part of the 2022 derby at Dodger Stadium, losing in the first round to Albert Pujols.

Last year, Schwarber won the All-Star Game for the NL in a “swing-off” tiebreaker, homering three times on three swings at Truist Park in Atlanta.

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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb