The $280 Million Reason Preventing Shohei Ohtani From Pitching in WBC

Mar 21, 2023; Miami, Florida, USA; Japan designated hitter and closing pitcher Shohei Ohtani (16) pitches against the the USA during the ninth inning at LoanDepot Park. Mandatory Credit: Rhona Wise-Imagn Images | Rhona Wise-Imagn Images

That Shohei Ohtani would reprise his role in leading Team Japan as they look to become back-to-back World Baseball Classic champions was largely a foregone conclusion.

Ohtani made a successful return to pitching last year and remained healthy through his second season with the Los Angeles Dodgers.

That left the only 2026 WBC question pertaining to Ohtani being whether or not he would pitch for Samurai Japan.

It was answered during DodgerFest, when Dodgers manager Dave Roberts announced Ohtani is not going to be a two-way player in the World Baseball Classic. Roberts revealed the decision one hour after Ohtani suggested his role was still being determined.

Roberts assured it was Ohtani who decided he would not pitch for Team Japan.

Shohei Ohtani impacted by WBC insurance issues

In the time since it became public that Ohtani only was going to be a designated hitter in this year's international tournament, it's been reported that insurance played a role in that decision.

Evan Drellich of The Athletic explained during an appearance on the "Foul Territory" show that Ohtani was not going to be able to obtain WBC insurance coverage as a pitcher due to his exorbitant contract.

"The insurance, I was told, costs a massive amount of money. I don't know exactly what that means, but it would be very expensive.

"The way it works this go around, and this might've been true in the past as well. It covers four years for pitchers, two years for hitters.

"So that means, if--this is a hypothetical--Ohtani were to pitch and were to be covered to pitch, which according to the information Ken (Rosenthal) and I had, he was not going to be. The insurance was not going to sign off on Shohei Ohtani being covered as a pitcher.

"But had he been, that would've meant the full 70 (million), not the discounted $46 million with net present value and the deferrals, that $70 million dollars per year for four years, would've been covered under that policy."

Insurance coverage issues have cast a shadow over the upcoming WBC. Miguel Rojas didn't hold any punches when expressing his frustration over a new provision blocking players who are 37 years old from participating.

Rojas not only didn't understand why that was being used as the age cutoff but he also expressed a belief that Latin American countries were being disproportionately affected.

For Ohtani, his lasting memory of pitching in the WBC is going to remain striking out then-Los Angeles Angels teammate Mike Trout to help Team Japan win the gold medal game over Team USA in 2023.

And though the 31-year-old is going to be limited in a sense while representing his country, the Dodgers anticipate utilizing Ohtani as a full-blown starting pitcher come the regular season.