Dodgers stars Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto to play for Japan in World Baseball Classic

Fresh off a World Series title, Shohei Ohtani will go for another world championship this summer.

He will join Dodgers teammate and reigning World Series MVP Yoshinobu Yamamoto on the Japanese national team for the upcoming World Baseball Classic, manager Hirokazu Ibata announced at a news conference in Tokyo.

The Dodgers’ other Japanese player, Roki Sasaki, wasn’t named to the team.

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 started two games on the mound in the 2023 edition of the tournament and closed out the final against the United States by striking out Mike Trout for the last out.

Yamamoto’s participation was in question because of the heavy workload the right-hander shouldered in the postseason. Yamamoto started two games in the World Series and closed Game 7 on zero-days’ rest.

Ibata called Yamamoto “Japan’s ace.”

Ibata’s team will have a record eight major league players on its roster.

Alongside the two Dodgers are left-handers Yusei Kikuchi of the Angels and Yuki Matsui of the Padres, free-agent right-hander Tomoyuki Sugano, infielders Kazuma Okamoto of the Blue Jays and Munetaka Murakami of the White Sox, and outfielder Seiya Suzuki of the Cubs.

Samurai Japan, as the team is nicknamed in its homeland, will open camp in Miyazaki on Feb. 14, which is around the time many major league clubs will start spring training. Ibata said he expected his major league players to join the team in Nagoya, where exhibition games against the Chunichi Dragons of the Japanese league are scheduled for Feb. 27 and 28. 

Japan has won three of the previous five WBCs.

In addition to showcasing the country’s major league players, the tournament has showcased its domestic league’s up-and-coming talent, including Daisuke Matsuzaka in 2006 and Sasaki in 2023.

The most promising domestically-based talent on this Samurai Japan team include right-hander Hiroto Takahashi of the Dragons and power hitter Teruaki Sato of the Hanshin Tigers.