Shohei Ohtani will play for Japan but will not pitch for the defending champions in next month’s World Baseball Classic (WBC), Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said on Saturday.
Roberts said Ohtani, the 31-year-old two-way superstar who led the Dodgers to the 2024 and 2025 World Series titles, made the decision to not take the mound until the Dodgers begin this year’s MLB campaign.
Ohtani clinched the 2023 WBC crown for Japan when he struck out then-Los Angeles Angels teammate Mike Trout. Ohtani was named the 2023 WBC Most Valuable Player (MVP).
Photo: AP
Ohtani said he expects to be ready to pitch for the Dodgers when the regular season begins in late next month.
After undergoing two right elbow operations in 2023, Ohtani did not return to the mound for the Dodgers until June last year.
He threw 47 innings last MLB season with a 2.87 earned-run average and 62 strikeouts with only nine walks allowed.
In his first mound appearances in the MLB playoffs, right-hander Ohtani was 2-1 with a 4.43 earned-run average and 28 strikeouts over 20 1/3 innings.
Ohtani, a five-time MLB All-Star and four-time league MVP, will try to help Japan a fourth title in six WBC.