Dodgers' Corey Seager to participate in HR Derby, team activates pitcher Hyun-Jin Ryu

In what may be a dose of bad news for the Los Angeles Dodgers, shortstop and rookie sensation Corey Seager will compete in the 2016 Home Run Derby, on Monday, July 11th.  The 2016 Home Run Derby will be held at Petco Park in San Diego, and broadcast live by ESPN and MLB.com beginning at 8:00 p.m. (ET)/5:00 p.m. (PT).

Historically, the Derby is fraught with numerous players who "lost" their swing during the second half of the season after tweaking it for the Derby.  Last season, Dodger Joc Pederson had his offensive production go in the tank after performing in the Derby.

Seager, who has a team-leading 17 home runs on the season and second among big league rookies, will compete in his first career Derby after being selected to his first career All-Star game on Tuesday. Seager will become the eighth player (10 appearance) in Dodgers history to take part in the Derby, joining Steve Garvey (1985), Mike Piazza (1993-94), Raul Mondesi (1995), Hee-Seop Choi (2005), Matt Kemp (2011-12) and Joc Pederson (2015).

The 22-year-old Seager will also become just the seventh rookie to compete in the Derby, joining California’s Wally Joyner (1986), Oakland’s Jose Canseco (1986) and Mark McGwire (1987), Mike Piazza of the Dodgers (1993), and Kris Bryant (2015) and Anthony Rizzo (2015) of the Chicago Cubs.

The annual showcase will also features Major League Baseball’s leading home run hitter Mark Trumbo of the Baltimore Orioles; Cincinnati Reds outfielder Adam Duvall; Colorado Rockies outfielder Carlos Gonzalez; and Miami Marlins outfielder Giancarlo Stanton.

Brackets in the first round were seeded based on 2016 home run totals through Wednesday’s games.  The first round matchups will include: No. 1 seed Trumbo (26 home runs) vs. No. 8 seed Seager (17); No. 2 seed Frazier (23) vs. No. 7 seed Gonzalez (18); No. 3 seed Duvall (22) vs. No. 6 seed Myers (19); and No. 4 seed Cano (20) vs. No. 5 seed Stanton (19).  The tiebreak between Stanton and Myers was decided by home runs hit since June 15th (7-5 in favor of Stanton).

Dodgers activate lefty Ryu

The Los Angeles Dodgers are finally starting to get back some depth in their starting rotation, as today the team reinstated left-handed pitcher Hyun-Jin Ryu from the 60-day disabled list and recalled right-hander Carlos Frias from Triple-A Oklahoma City.

How effective Ryu will be is an entirely different matter.

Ryu, 29, will make his first big league start today since September 12, 2014 following his recovery from left shoulder surgery (May 21, 2015), which caused him to miss the entire 2015 campaign. He went 1-2 with a 4.23 ERA (13 ER/27.2 IP) in eight rehab starts, last appearing with Single-A Rancho Cucamonga on July 1 and pitching 6.0 innings (84 pitches).

The South Korean native made his Major League debut in 2013 and has gone 28-15 with a 3.17 ERA in 56 starts with the Dodgers in 2013-14, after signing with the club on December 12, 2012 from the Korea Baseball Organization.  In his second season with Los Angeles in 2014, he posted a 14-7 record with a 3.38 ERA (57 ER/152.0 IP) in 26 starts and struck out 139 batters against just 29 walks.

Frias, 26, will be making his second appearance on the active roster this season after being recalled on June 19-21 for his first stint with the big league club, in which he did not appear in a game. He last pitched on July 3 for Oklahoma City vs. Nashville, allowing one run on one hit in 1.2 innings of relief, recording his third win of the season.  In 10 minor league games (five starts) this year, Frias has gone 3-3 with a 3.95 ERA, including two rehab starts with Double-A Tulsa as he recovered from an oblique injury.

To make room on the active roster, the Dodgers designated outfielder Will Venable for assignment and will send left-handed pitcher Luis Avilan to Triple-A Oklahoma City.

By Staff of TheDailySportsHerald.com and news services