With Samurai Japan falling to Team Venezuela in the 2026 World Baseball Classic quarterfinals, Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto will soon return to the Los Angeles Dodgers for the final days of Spring Training.
Ohtani and Yamamoto have been away from the team for the past three weeks, missing most of Cactus League play while trying to help Japan defend its WBC title.
Ohtani and Yamamoto will now have less than a week’s worth of Spring Training games to get some final reps in before the Dodgers break camp and return to Southern California for the Freeway Series.
According to Bill Plunkett of the Southern California News Group, Ohtani and Yamamoto are both expected to pitch in a game before the Dodgers leave Arizona:
Ohtani and Yamamoto are likely to pitch in games before the Dodgers break camp on Saturday, but their schedules have not been determined yet.
Ohtani and Yamamoto won’t have much time to throw off a mound as the Dodgers have just five Cactus League games remaining before they depart Arizona on Saturday. It’s possible that one or both players pitch in a “B” game on a backfield at Camelback Ranch, but L.A. might prefer they face Major League competition instead.
Ohtani has not pitched in a game this spring, so it’s possible that he will be limited to some degree when he makes his first pitching start of the regular season.
Yamamoto, meanwhile, has gone 1-0 with a 5.79 ERA and 1.71 WHIP in 4.1 innings across two Cactus League appearances for the Dodgers. He also posted a 2.70 ERA in 6.2 innings across two starts for Team Japan in the WBC.
Dodgers expect Shohei Ohtani to be part of Opening Day starting rotation
Unlike his first two seasons with the Dodgers, Ohtani is expected to pitch on a regular basis this year and should be a key member of their starting rotation from start to finish.
However, the team is still deciding on Ohtani’s spot in the rotation and whether or not he will have a pitch count in his first start.
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