On Jan. 31, the Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts revealed a couple of big news items surrounding their two-way star Shohei Ohtani during the team’s Dodgerfest.
The first being that Ohtani will not be pitching for Team Japan at the 2026 World Baseball Classic. However, Roberts does mention that the Japanese standout will be laying down the prep work to begin pitching for the Dodgers once his WBC participation is over.
“[Ohtani is] not going to pitch in WBC, but he will be ramping up his arm to get ready for the season,” Roberts told reporters (h/t Dodgers Nation). “I think for me, is I don’t know how many innings he threw last year. But obviously with a full offseason going towards what he did last year…
“I wasn’t surprised and feel real good about it; I wouldn’t say I was relieved. I think that he wants to understand what he did last year, what he had to go through, [and] then how best to prepare himself for 26. It just seemed like the right decision.”
Moreover, Roberts shared whether he intends to manage Ohtani’s pitching load differently than he did last season, when the Dodgers star was returning to the mound after his injury.
“I think that I honestly I don’t think that I’m going to manage any differently as far as each outing,” Roberts added, “I think there’s certainly going to be extra time. You know, it’s not a five-day, six-man rotation. So, there’s going to be rest points, but I think outside of that, it’s not going to be too many.”
Shohei Ohtani Revealed He Could Have Pitched for Japan
Ohtani did reveal that he could possibly pitch for Team Japan when he was talking to reporters during DodgerFest. However, it appears that putting the team first in this case won out, so people tuning into the WBC will have to be content with only seeing Ohtani at the plate.
“In terms of the World Baseball Classic, I just have to see how my body feels, feel the progression, and see what happens,” Ohtani said through his interpreter on Jan. 31 (h/t Dodgers Nation).
Upon his return to the mound, Ohanti was 1-1 with an ERA of 2.87 and 62 strikeouts in 14 appearances in 2025, per StatMuse. Meanwhile, in the postseason, the Dodgers star went 2-1 with an ERA of 4.43 and 28 strikeouts in four postseason appearances in 2025, per StatMuse.
Dodgers Share Major Roki Sasaki News Ahead of 2026 Season
As for the Dodgers’ other Japanese pitcher, Roki Sasaki, Los Angeles’ front office recently gave an update on his plan as spring training approaches. While Sasaki thrived out of the bullpen, Dodgers general manager Brandon Gomes noted that the Dodgers see the 24-year-old as a starting pitcher.
“Starter for sure,” Gomes told WEEI’s Rob Bradford in a Jan. 28 video. “He looks great. Velocity is really good in bullpens. He’s feeling awesome physically [and] continuing to work on the cutter and two‑seam. If he just went fastball‑split, and he could dominate. And as he rounds out the arsenal, it’s going to be really challenging for teams as he gets through the third time in the order.”
Dodgers Announce Two Key Developments on Shohei Ohtani