Who Is On Team Japan for the World Baseball Classic?

With the 2026 WBC fast approaching, expectations will be high for Ibata to guide the Samurai back to the final at a minimum.

Team Japan World Baseball Classic Roster Update

Position Players

Japan’s title-winning lineups in 2006, 2009, and 2023 were all incredibly formidable, but this group may be the strongest yet. With the best player in the world, Shohei Ohtani, anchoring the order as the designated hitter, Ibata has no shortage of stars at his disposal, drawing from both MLB and NPB.

Behind the plate, Japan has opted for a defensively oriented tandem of Seishiro Sakamoto and Kenya Wakatsuki, with veteran Yuhei Nakamura, who caught the final out in 2023, as the third-string.

Sakamoto won the NPB Fielding Bible Award at the position last year as an elite framer, accumulating 25 Defensive Runs Saved (DRS), while posting a career-best 115 OPS+ with the stick. Wakatsuki finished with a 112 OPS+ and has a good rapport with pitchers like Yoshinobu Yamamoto.

Japan has retained much of its infield core from 2023, with Munetaka Murakami, Kazuma Okamoto, Shugo Maki, and Sosuke Genda all returning.

One notable wrinkle this time is that Murakami and Okamoto will likely swap at the corners, with Murakami sliding over to first base and Okamoto moving to the hot corner as both sluggers enter their debut MLB seasons. Together, they’ve hit nearly 500 career home runs in NPB.

Maki logged a handful of games in 2023, but was overshadowed by superstar Tetsuto Yamada at the time. Now, he’s fully earned the spotlight. He’s slashed .295/.345/.509 across five NPB seasons, consistently ranking as a top 10 hitter in the league.

Genda, a longtime defensive stalwart, served as the primary shortstop in 2023 even after breaking his pinky finger midway through the tournament. This time around, reigning Central League batting champion Kaito Kozono is expected to get the starting job, with Genda as a backup.