Ohtani won't pitch in World Baseball Classic, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts says

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LOS ANGELES (AP) — Two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani won't pitch for Japan in the World Baseball Classic in March, Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said Saturday.

Roberts said it was Ohtani's decision to focus solely on being the designated hitter for his native country.

He said the team “absolutely” would have supported Ohtani if he had wanted to also pitch. Ohtani's teammate and World Series MVP Yoshinobu Yamamoto will pitch for Japan in the WBC despite his heavy workload with the Dodgers last season.

“Yoshi feels he wants to take it on and feels good, and we support him,” Roberts said at the team's fan fest.

Ohtani made two starts for Japan in the 2023 WBC and then came out of the bullpen in the ninth inning to clinch the championship by striking out then-Los Angeles Angels teammate Mike Trout for the final out against the United States.

Ohtani tore his ulnar collateral ligament in August that year and later underwent elbow surgery, which kept him from pitching during his first season with the Dodgers in 2024, when he was their full-time designated hitter.

He gradually returned to pitching last year and made four postseason starts during the Dodgers' run to their second straight World Series championship.

Ohtani didn't confirm his decision not to pitch in the WBC when speaking with reporters before Roberts. The four-time MVP said through a translator that he had to “see how my body feels, feel the progression and see what happens.”

The 31-year-old Ohtani said he's had a normal offseason because he hasn't been rehabbing from injury.

“I’m very healthy," he said. "Glad that I am.”

Roberts said he won't manage Ohtani any differently now that he's going to pitch a full season. He said there will be ample rest days in between starts and Ohtani won't be scheduled for any more two or three-inning starts.

Ohtani, Yamamoto and Roki Sasaki were teammates on Japan's WBC title team in 2023. But Sasaki won't be pitching this time, coming off a rookie season filled with ups and downs that ended with him pitching out of the bullpen for the Dodgers.

The WBC runs from March 5-17.

Dodgers first baseman Freddie Freeman said he won't play for Canada in the WBC because of what he described as a personal reason.

“They’re very supportive,” he said. “I told them why I wasn’t going to be able to go out there and play in Puerto Rico and be that far from my family. I need to be close to California.”

Roberts is pondering his starting lineup ahead of the team reporting for spring training in Arizona on Feb. 13.

“I do feel great about having Shohei lead off. I do feel great about having Will (Smith) in the 5 (spot) and then after that, I’m going to kind of read and react,” he said. “You certainly see Mookie (Betts) in the 3 (spot).”

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