Shohei Ohtani was on the mound for the final out of the last World Baseball Classic, striking out then-teammate Mike Trout to take home the trophy. The 2026 edition of the event won’t feature Ohtani the pitcher. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts told reporters, including Alden Gonzalez of ESPN, that the Japanese right-hander will not be pitching in the WBC. Roberts added that it was Ohtani’s decision.
Though Roberts said the team “absolutely” would’ve worked out Ohtani pitching in the tournament if he wanted to (per Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register), recent developments around WBC insurance may have thrown a wrench into the situation. Evan Drellich of The Athletic noted Ohtani was unlikely to be covered as a pitcher, meaning he couldn’t have pitched in the WBC regardless of his personal preference. The insurance issues have led Team Puerto Rico to consider removing themselves from the event.
Ohtani will still be on Team Japan as a DH. Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic relayed that the righty said he’ll be ready to pitch to open the regular season. Ohtani didn’t pitch at all in 2024 as he recovered from elbow surgery. A shoulder procedure at the conclusion of that season kept him off the mound until June of this past year. Ohtani made 14 starts for the Dodgers in 2025. He delivered a 2.87 ERA across 47 innings. Ohtani wasn’t as dominant in the playoffs, though he did toss six innings in three of his four outings, something he did just once in the regular season.
Health tends to be the main question mark for L.A.’s rotation, and Blake Snell is taking steps to make sure he feels right in 2026. The talented left-hander told reporters, including Ardaya, that he’s taking a more deliberate approach to building up strength this offseason. “Last year, I was rushing,” Snell said. “I wanted to pitch so bad.”
After signing a massive five-year, $182MM deal, Snell went down with shoulder inflammation just two starts into his Dodgers tenure. He posted eight walks to just four strikeouts in those two games. “Just never felt great, never felt what the normal (is) I’ve felt my whole career,” Snell said. He returned in August and looked like himself, piling up strikeouts and keeping opposing offenses off the board. The lefty limited the Reds, Phillies, and Brewers to two earned runs over 21 innings in the playoffs. The Blue Jays tagged him for 10 earned runs over three appearances, but Snell’s final postseason line still looks solid.
Even with the slower buildup, “the plan” is for Snell to be ready for Opening Day, per Sonja Chen of MLB.com. If Snell isn’t ready by late March, Roki Sasaki and Emmet Sheehan would likely fill out a rotation. The Dodgers are a good bet to rely on more than five starters anyway, given the injury histories and heavy workloads of their core arms. As Ardaya points out, the starters covered 137 1/3 of 165 innings during the 2025 playoff run.
Tommy Edman is also going with the gradual approach this offseason. The 30-year-old is recovering from ankle surgery. The procedure included ligament repair and the removal of bone spurs, notes Ardaya. Edman said the issues affected him as a baserunner and as a defender bouncing between second base and center field. Similar to Snell, his status for Opening Day is uncertain.
“I think it all depends on how the progression goes along,” Edman said. “I’m not putting that as a hard line in the sand. I am doing everything I can to be ready for Opening Day. But if it comes around to that time and my ankle is 90 percent, not quite where I need it to be, I’m going to do my best to be patient with it and get it back to 100 percent and not dealing with it for the rest of the year.”
Poor Dodgers can never catch a break.
It must be pretty tough working with their limited resources and budget. Makes me feel bad about myself for hating them since they stole Kirk Gibson….
Nah…
The Dodgers could legitimately field two different teams and both would have a good shot at making the playoffs.
Nope.
That’s for the insightful commentary!
Boy Dimitri, I guess you told him. Brilliant! Succinct and to the point, “ Nope.”
The Dodgers absolutely could field two playoff teams from their 40-man roster. Every notable person in baseball has said or agreed to this point. Denial of this fact shows a lack of understanding and intellectual scope of oneself!
They should just give half their roster to their LA cousins the Angels so both LA teams can make the playoffs. Or hurry up and trade it for Skubal like we all know they will.
Mike Trout would still miss the playoffs ..
Bum,
The only way the Dodgers would trade for Skubal is if Detroit’s lack of aggressiveness since last July left them with a team bad enough that Skubal would be available at this year’s trade deadline.
I don’t think they will be in a position to trade him at the deadline. They have a good team but would have benefitted from at least one more big bat. I think if teams want him the time is now. If someone is desperate to keep up with LA (SD, Cubs, Mets, Phil?) or pull ahead of other teams in their division/league (Mets Bost, Tor, NYY, Balt) maybe they will pay up. The only way I see LA doing it right now is to keep him away from a team like that. The price won’t impact LA much in the long-term because they have so many other assets. If I had to pick someone who might do it I’d say Toronto (missed on other stars, pressure to return to WS, $$$ to extend) or the Cubs (starters are a few notches below other top teams, they did it last year with Tucker, pressure to produce for GM).
If they can’t sign him I’d rather they find a solution that allows them to compete this year and into the future (i.e. sign Gallen and/ or Valdez and get a strong prospect package, or get a high upside MLB pitcher like Horton or Kirby to front a package and plug them in to replace Skubal’s innings). There’s a blueprint there to trade him and still be the AL Central favorites and AL rep in the WS.
Gbs – Even then, unless they have key injuries the Dodgers wouldn’t trade for him. Their rotation is stacked already. Yama, Ohtani, Shell, Glasnow, Roki …
But the reports say they have discissed Skubal with Detroit. Did they need Snell or Roki when they signed them? Probably not. Hopefully the Tigers sign him long term but I doubt it. If someone wants him for a World Series push now is the time because I highly doubt the Tigers will be out of it at the trade deadline.
Motor – It depends on how deep the discussions went, could have been just a due-diligence thing.
Plus Skubal is far more likely to refuse an extension after the trade deadline than he is prior to the season. I think the Dodgers are smart enough to realize it’s better to just wait until he becomes a free agent.
There was also reports of Glasnow being traded, I don’t think that’s very likely.
Iam sure his drop in sprint speed is understandable.
Dodgers rotation actually has plenty of question marks.
Pay the price and pick up Skubal. Problem solved!
They hate trading prospects though, well, at least while they still have hyper attached to them. Later when they haven’t panned out, they wind up giving them away for cheap. there is zero chance they are going to empty the farm for anyone when they can make it happen and free agency.
I don’t think they would have to empty their farm though. Out of everyone looking at him they are the team who has the most MLB pieces to trade without impacting the MLB roster. Sheehan and River Ryan is a good start with a couple prospects added in or Rushing. All three of those MLB pieces are easily expendable for LA and make sense for Detroit. In the minors there is Freeland who likely doesn’t have a spot on the roster and Hope who is a few years away and behind DePaula, Ferris who doesn’t have a spot on the roster and is likely #10 on their depth chart and Root who is years away. I can easily see the framework of a deal just with those players. I still think it is doubtful it happens and I hope Detroit signs him long term.
Considering Ryan is coming back from a serious arm injury and rushing, didn’t blow the doors down in his time in the majors brief as it was, I think the asking price is going to be much higher and will definitely include Zyhir Hope and at least one one top prospect along with the two you mentioned.
However, Snell’s comments about being exhausted, despite having lightly pitched last year and being cautious to start this season, I think eyebrows are going to be raised in the front office about his durability going forward and perhaps at the deadline they may finally be open to making this kind of deal.
Yeah, but their offense has a lot of exclamation points.
Yeah and it came down to a starter in their bullpen or they go home empty handed.
Questions like, ‘which of the second set of major league caliber starters are going to fill in for whoever ends up on the IL?’
Yea how many aces can they fit in a 6 man rotation?
Too bad they merely have Gavin Stone and River Ryan coming back, Roki Sasaki, Landon Knack, Justin Wrobleski, if any of the top 5-6 guys go out for awhile, whatever shall they do?
Sheehan and Casparius as well although maybe you’re already counting Emmet as a starter.
I was counting him as # 5 basically yeah.
Casparius seems better as a long reliever I think but is def another option
Questions?!?!?! Name one MLB team that doesn’t?
Dodgers need to spend more…..
MLB helped create the WBC and should step in to help with the coverage. To help grow the game, need to pay it forward.
The WBC is a joke, like the NBA’s in-season tournament. Just leave the game alone.
What does it even have to do with ruining baseball? Go back to your basement and cope more
I think the WBC is best event going in baseball.
The WBC should replace the All-Star game….
Dodger notes: Ohtani, Snell and friends…wait, the Dodgers got Ohtani???
What happened to that plane to Toronto?
That plane was deferred!
Canadian ICE forced him to go back
I’ll just toss this one out there. I think River Ryan is going to have a great season. And of course there will be room for him because we all know Snell and Glasnow are made of grandmas’s doilies. The Dodgers got Ryan from the Padres for Matt Beaty (who is currently out of baseball). And just to name another great move, they got Mike Sirota and a draft pick for lack luster Gavin Lux who recorded a negative WAR last year. Friedman just slays
“Roberts added that it was Ohtani’s decision”, not to play in this year’s WBC.
I’m shocked (shocked!) that the Dodgers did not force the gold mine that is Shohei Ohtani to sit out the WBC against his will.
Sir please
Medical advancements are amazing!
It was only a few years ago that bone spurs were a debilitating condition that could completely hamper the ability to serve the country.
Now, it’s possible to be back on the base pads within the same season!
Hats off to medical research!