The complete 2026 Home Run Derby field has officially been set and there isn’t a representative from the Los Angeles Dodgers for the second straight year.
However, they will be represented by third base coach Dino Ebel. According to David Vassegh of AM 570 LA Sports, Philadelphia Phillies All-Star Bryce Harper asked Ebel to pitch to him in the Home Run Derby at Citizens Bak Park.
Bryce Harper reached out to Dino Ebel last night to throw to him in HR Derby.
Since none of the #Dodgers players are participating, Dino accepted. #HRDerby
— David Vassegh (@THEREAL_DV) July 10, 2026
Given that the Dodgers don’t have a player in the event, Ebel was glad to accept the invitation from Harper.
“I’ve always said, if somebody ever asked me on another team, wanted me to throw, and there was nobody on my team, which is the Dodgers, that are participating, I’m in,” he said during an appearance on “DodgerTalk.”
“I think one, it’s a challenge for me personally to face a guy you don’t throw to very often. I got a chance to throw to (Kyle )Schwarber in the WBC. So if anybody calls and they want me to throw for them on Monday night in Philadelphia, I’ll be there waiting for them.”
Ebel has a well well-established track record in the Home Run Derby. He threw soft toss for 2007 Home Run Derby champion Vladimir Guerrero and to Teoscar Hernández when he became the first member of the Dodgers organization to win the event.
Ebel also was on the mound for Kyle Schwarber last year during the first ever All-Star Game swing-off.
This will be Harper’s third time participating in the derby, with his previous attempts coming in 2013 and 2018. The nine-time All-Star took home the Home Run Derby crown as the hometown participant for the Washington Nationals in 2018.
Dino Ebel praised
The 2025 All-Star Game ending in a swing-off generated plenty of buzz and while Schwarber deservedly was celebrated for his home runs, the slugger was quick to note the role Ebel played.
“Luckily, I’ve faced Dino in the World Baseball Classic. He was on the coaching staff. He’s got great BP,” Schwarber said at the time. “A lot of credit goes to him, too, just kind of getting thrown into the firestorm there and not being rattled by it, being able to keep pumping really good strikes to us.
“Having the familiarity, and he asked me right before, he was like, ‘Where do you want it?’ I’m like, just middle. And he’s like, ‘I gotcha.’
“So a lot of credit goes to him, too, for the National League bringing it home.”
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