Los Angeles Dodgers starting pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto will play for Japan in the upcoming World Baseball Classic, per Yahoo! Japan.
However, Dodgers pitcher Roki Sasaki will not play for Japan after he missed nearly all of 2025 due to injury. Sasaki was sidelined over four months this past season with right shoulder impingement but returned in late September and made nine relief appearances (0.84 ERA) in the playoffs.
Yamamoto, the reigning World Series MVP, went 12-8 this past season with a 2.49 ERA (0.99 WHIP) and 201 strikeouts in 173.2 innings over 30 starts.
Yamamoto has won gold on the world stage for Japan before, first at the Summer Olympics in Tokyo in 2021 and then later at the World Baseball Classic in 2023.
Now he’s hoping to win gold again in 2026. Having him front Japan’s staff is a huge boost for the team as it searches for back-to-back WBC titles.
Yamamoto has established himself as one of MLB’s premier aces, especially after a legendary playoff run. His 2025 campaign was highlighted by two days of brilliance beginning with Game 6, when Yamamoto threw six innings of one-run ball, striking out six en route to helping the Dodgers win 3-1.
And then, on zero days rest, Yamamoto threw 2.2 scoreless innings to finish the Dodgers’ World Series title. With that effort, Yamamoto won three of the Dodgers’ four games.
Overall, Yamamoto went 5-1 with a 1.45 ERA (0.78 WHIP), striking out 33 batters in 37.1 innings in the playoffs. The 27-year-old threw a pair of complete games as well in Game 2 of the National League Championship Series and Game 2 of the World Series.
The next WBC will be played from March 5-17, with Japan, Puerto Rico and the United States serving as host countries. Japan will be in Group C alongside Australia, Chinese Taipei, Czechia and South Korea.