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Admitting participation by Shohei Ohtani, Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Roki Sasaki in the World Baseball Classic is “very delicate” following a World Series that stretched into November, Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts isn’t sure whether any limits will be placed on his team’s Japanese stars.
Ohtani had elbow surgery in September 2023 and returned to the mound in June. The two-way sensation helped the Dodgers become the first repeat World Series champion in a quarter century, starting the Game 7 win over Toronto.
“I would like to think that it’s going to be a dialogue as far as restrictions and limitations, in the sense of just trying to give them the opportunity,” Roberts said Monday at baseball’s winter meetings. “They’ve come off some stuff, some long seasons, and certainly with Yamamoto and looking out for 2026. But right now there’s no more clarity than we had before.”
Ohtani won his fourth unanimous Most Valuable Player award, hitting .282 with 55 homers, 102 RBIs and 20 stolen bases while going 1-1 with a 2.87 ERA over 14 shortened starts that included 62 strikeouts in 47 innings. He had eight homers and 14 RBIs in 17 postseason games along with a 2-1 record and 4.43 ERA in four postseason starts.
Roberts said he wasn’t sure whether Ohtani will pitch for defending champion Japan in the WBC, which starts March 5 and ends March 17 — nine days before the Dodgers’ opener against Arizona.
“I’m hoping he doesn’t but I don’t know,” Roberts said. “Shohei’s — he’s very in tune with his body. But I would say probably the thought is he’s probably just going to hit.”
Ohtani was MVP of the 2023 WBC, when Japan beat the United States 3-2 in the final as Ohtani struck out then-Los Angeles Angels teammate Mike Trout for the final out. That tournament generally limited pitchers to 65 pitches in the first round, 80 in the quarterfinals and 95 in the championship, and also included mandatory off days after certain pitch counts.
Sasaki started the semifinal win over Mexico and Yamamoto followed in relief as Ohtani doubled to spark a ninth-inning rally.
“I don’t want to be dismissive of what it means to them representing their country,” Roberts said. “I know the organization doesn’t but I do think that the conversations need to be had, will be had, as far as what each individual is taking on and whatever role that they might be taking on and what potential costs there might be. … But you can’t debate the emotion, what a player might feel of this potential opportunity.”
Limited to 90 innings by a triceps injury in his first season with the Dodgers after signing a $325 million, 12-year contract in December 2023, Yamamoto pitched 211 innings this year in the regular season and postseason combined.
Sasaki, in his rookie season, didn’t pitch for the Dodgers between May 9 and Sept. 24 because of a right shoulder impingement and became their closer in the postseason.
Los Angeles plans to have Ohtani as a regular member of the starting rotation next season.
“But it’s not going to be a regular five-man rotation,” Roberts said. “I don’t want to go down the six-man rotation road, but I do feel that giving him six, seven, eight days off to kind of allow him to continue to stay rested and build up, I think that’s in our process. But again we have a long way to go but we’ve got some viable candidates.”
After leading the Dodgers to their third title in six seasons, Roberts has tried to detach and relax. He told Amazon Prime’s “Good Sports” last week that he favors a salary cap, which some in management are advocating be proposed during collective bargaining next year. Baseball is the only U.S. professional major league without a cap.
“You know what? I’m all right with that,” Roberts said. “I think the NBA’s done a nice job of kind of revenue sharing with the players and the owners, but if you’re going to kind of suppress spending at the top, I think that you got to raise the floor to make those bottom feeders spend money, too.”
“I’m entitled to an opinion, as we all are,” Roberts said Monday. “My opinion shouldn’t move the needle.”
Los Angeles projects to a major league-record $509.5 million in payroll and luxury tax this year. The New York Mets, who didn’t make the playoffs, project second at $428.8 million.
“We have an organization that whatever rules or regulations, constructs are put in front of us, we’re going to dominate,” Roberts said. “And so just give us the rules, let us know the landscape and then I’ll bet on our organization.”
Reporting by The Associated Press.
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