Japan’s roster for the World Baseball Classic features familiar names, but one question lingers.
The Dodgers’ Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto were among those named to Team Japan by manager Hirokazu Ibata on Monday at a news conference in Tokyo. Ohtani previously announced his intention to participate in the WBC in November, and Yamamoto was expected to take part despite a heavy workload in the Dodgers’ run to a second straight World Series championship.
Dodgers right-hander Roki Sasaki, who will be returning to the starting rotation after missing most of last year’s regular season because of a shoulder injury, was not selected. Sasaki was on Team Japan in 2023, starting two games — including a dramatic semifinal win over Mexico.
In his earlier announcement, Ohtani did not indicate whether he would pitch in the WBC and on Monday Ibata told reporters that the team will get a better sense once Ohtani reports to spring training next month.
In the 2023 WBC, Ohtani won tournament MVP with a .435 batting average and 1.86 pitching ERA, helping Japan to the title. He punctuated the event with his memorable strikeout of Mike Trout for the final out in the championship game.
Eight major leaguers were named to Team Japan’s WBC roster, including the Angels left-hander Yusei Kukuchi, Padres left-hander Yuki Matsui, Blue Jays infielder Kazuma Okamoto, White Sox infielder Munetaka Murakami, Cubs outfielder Seiya Suzuki and right-hander Tomoyuki Sugano, currently a free agent who pitched for the Baltimore Orioles last year.
MLB players are expected to join Team Japan for exhibition games on March 2. Japan will open WBC play on March 6 against Taiwan.
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