Shohei Ohtani won’t be a two-way player for Japan in the World Baseball Classic, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said on Saturday at DodgerFest.
“He’s not going to pitch in the WBC, but he will be ramping up his arm to get ready for the season,” Roberts said.
Earlier in the day, Ohtani said his status as a pitcher for the WBC remained undetermined. Ohtani said he’d already thrown three or four bullpen sessions this offseason.
But Roberts said it was decided about a month ago that Ohtani would be a designated hitter in the WBC. The choice to focus on hitting was “absolutely” Ohtani’s call, according to Roberts.
Asked if the Dodgers would have allowed Ohtani to pitch in the WBC if he wanted, Roberts replied, “Absolutely.”
Ohtani was a two-way player in the 2023 World Baseball Classic, which was won by Japan. Ohtani was Samurai Japan’s closer in the championship game, and he struck out Mike Trout to register the final out.
In the regular season that followed, Ohtani was a two-way player for the Angels. He sustained a season-ending elbow injury in August. A month later, he underwent his second Tommy John surgery.
Ohtani didn’t pitch in 2024, his first season with the Dodgers. He made his return to the mound last year, pitching 14 regular-season games, posting a 3.14 earned-run average.
He also pitched four postseason games.
Roberts said of Ohtani’s decision to not pitch in the WBC: “I wasn’t surprised, so I can’t even say I was relieved. Understanding what he did last year, what he had to go through to then how best to prepare himself for ‘26 to do both (pitch and hit), it just seemed like the right decision.”
Roberts said that while Ohtani would occasionally receive extra rest between starts in the regular season, he would otherwise be treated like a normal starting pitcher.
