Shohei Ohtani Feeling Benefits of Playing in World Baseball Classic

Feb 21, 2026; Tempe, Arizona, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers designated hitter Shohei Ohtani against the Los Angeles Angels during a spring training game at Tempe Diablo Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

Shohei Ohtani has only appeared in two Cactus League games for the Los Angeles Dodgers in Spring Training thus far, split evenly between designated hitter and as a pitcher.

Ohtani was in the lineup for the Dodgers' first Spring Training of the year, but he didn't play for them again until Wednesday. The long break was of course due to Ohtani joining Team Japan for the World Baseball Classic.

Despite the limited at-bats with the Dodgers, the two-way star believes he's on track for the regular season because of participating in the international tournament.

"In terms of the hitting, it did help that I played in an atmosphere that was pretty intense and competitive," Ohtani said through interpreter Will Ireton.

"So the fact that I had to get things going earlier in the offseason, maybe was the only thing that really affected my preparation. But I think it helped me more so than it hurt me, as I played in meaningful games in the World Baseball Classic."

Ohtani went 1-for-3 with one strikeout against the Los Angeles Angels on Feb. 21. He hit .462/.611/1.231 with one double, three home runs and seven RBI in four WBC games.

Included in that was combining with Ronald Acuña Jr. to make World Baseball Classic history as former MVP winners to hit a leadoff home run in the same game.

Ohtani returned to Camelback Ranch sooner than he anticipated due to Samurai Japan having their WBC title defense end in a loss to Venezuela in the quarterfinals.

He was back with the Dodgers at the beginning of the week and returned to Cactus League action as a pitcher against the San Francisco Giants. Ohtani surpassed the goal by pitching 4.1 scoreless innings.

However, he wasn't overly pleased with the outing due to walking two batters and hitting one.

"I was pretty happy with the pitch count today. In terms of the next outing, I do want to be better at executing in two-strike counts," Ohtani said. "I just didn't finish off hitters as much as I wanted to."

Shohei Ohtani's schedule

Ohtani is expected to be in the Dodgers lineup on Friday as a DH and he'll continue to bat before making another pitching start at some point during the exhibition Freeway Series.

That will leave him on track to start on the mound during the Dodgers' series against the Cleveland Guardians during the regular season.