Shohei Ohtani became the first confirmed Los Angeles Dodgers participant for the 2026 World Baseball Classic that begins in spring.
The two-way star will again play for Team Japan as they look to repeat as champions in the international competition.
Ohtani could ultimately be joined by fellow Dodgers teammates Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Roki Sasaki on the Samurai Japan roster. All three players were part of the team that defeated the United States in the 2023 WBC championship game.
It isn’t clear if Ohtani will pitch in the upcoming tournament, or how heavily Yamamoto and Sasaki might be used should they decide to participate. Whatever they choose to do, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said the team is going to support them, via Jack Harris of the L.A. Times:
“We’ll support them,” Roberts told the Japanese media. “But I do think that the pitching, it’s a lot on the body, the arm. The rest will be beneficial for next year, for our season. But we understand how important the WBC is for these individual players and for the country of Japan.”
The Dodgers ideally would prefer that their star players skip the upcoming WBC after the club’s deep playoff runs over the last two years, but they also realize how important the international competition is to Japan.
Ohtani made his Dodgers pitching debut in June and wound up logging 67.1 innings between the regular season and postseason. Regardless if he pitches or not in the WBC, Ohtani is still expected to hit.
Yamamoto is coming off a season that saw him career-highs in innings pitched (173.2) and starts (30). He capped off the Dodgers’ World Series run by earning wins in back-to-back elimination games.
Sasaki missed most of his rookie season due to a shoulder injury, but returned late in the year and found success as a reliever. Because he spent most of the season on the 60-day injured list, the Dodgers could block Sasaki from participating in the WBC.
Dodgers playing in 2026 World Baseball Classic
Along with Ohtani and the potential additions of Yamamoto and Sasaki on the Team Japan roster, other Dodgers could choose to participate in the 2026 WBC.
Although they haven’t formally committed yet, Mookie Betts and Will Smith could both play for Team USA again. Teoscar Hernández has also expressed interest in playing for Team Dominican Republic.
Dodgers free agent Kiké Hernández won’t be with Team Puerto Rico due to undergoing left elbow surgery.
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