Dodgers’ Shohei Ohtani will not pitch for Japan in the World Baseball Classic

The most recent 2023 World Baseball Classic ended with one of the greatest moments in recent baseball history when Shohei Ohtani struck out Mike Trout to secure the Japanese championship game 3-2. It was such an iconic moment because Ohtani and Trout, the respective captains of Japan and the United States, were widely considered two of baseball’s best players and were also teammates with the Los Angeles Angels at the time.

There will be no repeat of that game, or anything close to it, during the 2026 World Baseball Classic in March.

That’s because Ohtani will not pitch for Japan in the tournament, as announced by Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts on Saturday.

Shohei Ohtani will not pitch for Japan during the 2026 World Baseball Classic

Ohtani will still serve as the designated hitter for Japan in the tournament, but will not take the mound.

Roberts said the decision was entirely Ohtani’s, and that the Dodgers “absolutely” would have supported his decision to pitch had he chosen to do so.

Even if that’s the case, it’s still probably for the best that Ohtani doesn’t pitch in the tournament just based on the fact that he was so limited on the mound for the Dodgers during the 2025 season.

Ohtani threw just 47 innings for the Dodgers in 2025 when he returned from the second Tommy John surgery of his career. While he was very effective in those 47 innings (with a 2.87 ERA), he was still clearly not 100% and not back to full workload. The hope is that he will be there this season. While the Dodgers would have supported his decision to pitch for Japan, there is likely an unspoken sigh of relief that he will save his arm for the team that pays him $700 million.

This year’s World Baseball Classic will take place between March 5 and March 17 (the championship game will be played on March 17) and will be played in the United States, Japan and Puerto Rico. The quarterfinals, semifinals and championship will all be played at Loan Depot Park, home of the National League’s Miami Marlins.