When Team Japan Might Know if Shohei Ohtani Will Pitch in World Baseball Classic

Nov 1, 2025; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Los Angeles Dodgers two-way player Shohei Ohtani (17) pitches against the Toronto Blue Jays in the first inning during game seven of the 2025 MLB World Series at Rogers Centre. Mandatory Credit: John E. Sokolowski-Imagn Images | John E. Sokolowski-Imagn Images

Los Angeles Dodgers teammates Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto were among a record eight MLB players officially named to the Team Japan roster for the 2026 World Baseball Classic.

Roki Sasaki, who pitched in the 2023 WBC to much fanfare, was not included. That was appearing to be the likely outcome considering Sasaki dealt with a right shoulder injury that caused him to miss a significant amount of time last season.

The Dodgers may have preferred for Yamamoto to skip the tournament considering his workload last year, but that never appeared to be much of a reality. Not playing for Samurai Japan was seemingly a non-starter with Ohtani.

What's not yet determined, however, is whether Ohtani is going to pitch in the World Baseball Classic this year.

According to Dylan Hernández of the California Post, Team Japan manager Hirokazu Ibata said Ohtani's status as a pitcher likely won't be determined until some time next month.

Ibata said he still didn’t know if Ohtani would pitch in the tournament, which will start for defending champion Japan in Tokyo on Mar. 6 with a game against Taiwan.

“He hasn’t been in spring training yet,” Ibata said. “I think it’ll be decided after he throws.”

Ohtani returned to pitching last season after making a full recovery from his second Tommy John surgery. The right-hander navigated a methodical buildup process that ultimately was accelerated at Ohtani's behest.

After pitching multiple rounds of live batting practice, Ohtani and the Dodgers agreed to move his rehab process into actual games. It amounted to the superstar being put on a plan to build his innings base roughly every two starts.

The progression left Ohtani fully stretched out come the postseason, when he pitched six innings in three of four starts. The only time Ohtani didn't reach that mark came in Game 7 of the World Series, which saw Ohtani start on just three days of rest.

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts has suggested Ohtani will be on a more normal pitching schedule this season, but still mentioned the likelihood of providing him with extra rest between outings.

Shohei Ohtani's WBC pitching stats

Ohtani made his World Baseball Classic debut with Team Japan in 2023, and it included pitching in three games (two starts). He made consecutive starts before appearing out of the bullpen to close out the gold medal game against Team USA.

Ohtani famously sealed the championship by striking out then-Los Angeles Angels teammate Mike Trout.

As a pitcher in the WBC, Ohtani finished with a 1.86 ERA and collected 11 strikeouts over 9.2 innings pitched. He also produced a 1.345 on-base plus slugging percentage as a batter en route to being named 2023 World Baseball Classic MVP.