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Alden Gonzalez
Multiple Authors
LOS ANGELES — According to Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts, Shohei Ohtani has opted not to pitch for Samurai Japan in the upcoming World Baseball Classic. Nevertheless, he will still participate as the designated hitter for his native country.
When asked if the team would have supported Ohtani had he chosen to pitch, Roberts replied: “Absolutely.”
Ohtani made two appearances as a pitcher for Japan during the 2023 WBC and memorably closed out the championship match in the ninth inning. Later that season, he experienced a new tear in his ulnar collateral ligament, leading to a full year as a designated hitter for the Dodgers in 2024.
After a careful recovery, Ohtani returned to pitching late in the 2025 season, making four postseason starts. In his final appearance, he secured the first seven outs in Game 7 of the World Series despite being on just three days’ rest. Roberts mentioned he “wasn’t surprised” by Ohtani’s choice to abstain from pitching in the international tournament, scheduled for mid-March.
“Considering what he experienced last year and how he needed to prepare for ’26 to be able to do both, it just felt like the right call,” said Roberts during the team’s annual fan event on Saturday. “So I was not surprised — and I feel really good about that.”
Earlier, Ohtani had expressed uncertainty about pitching in the WBC, stating he needed to evaluate how his body feels and monitor his progression. He was previously part of a star-studded rotation in the 2023 WBC, which included Yu Darvish, Shota Imanaga, and current teammates Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Roki Sasaki. Of them, only Yamamoto — who pitched 211 innings in 2025, including 2⅔ innings in Game 7 of the World Series on no rest — is set to return as a pitcher.
Sasaki mentioned on AM 570, the team’s flagship radio station, that the Dodgers requested he refrain from pitching in this year’s tournament, likely due to his inconsistent rookie season.
The 2026 season marks Ohtani’s return to being a full-time two-way player for the first time in three years. Roberts indicated that there will be no strict innings limit imposed on him, and he is expected to be ready as a fully stretched-out starter when the regular season commences. yet, the Dodgers plan to utilize a hybrid six-man rotation to provide Ohtani with additional rest between starts whenever feasible.
“It’s been a fantastic offseason,” Ohtani shared through an interpreter. “Mostly business as usual. The positive aspect is that I didn’t suffer any injuries this year, leading to a mostly normal offseason.”
