Dodgers News: Dodgers Support Players Willing to Play in 2026 WBC

LOS ANGELES, CA—While the Los Angeles Dodgers and their fans continue to celebrate their 2025 World Series victory, having only just been a month ago, it’s hard to believe that the 2026 World Baseball Classic, which begins this spring, is less than 100 days away.

While there is still an entire offseason to go before teams report to spring training in February, multiple players around the league are beginning to fill out the rosters for the international competition, including two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani, who announced on Instagram that he would suit up for Team Japan.

While other players within the Dodgers organization figure to play in the upcoming WBC, such as fellow Japanese teammates Roki Sasaki and Yoshinobu Yamamoto, along with past participants Mookie Betts, Will Smith, and Freddie Freeman, the Dodgers would support those decisions if they opted to play again, despite back-to-back short offseasons.

“We’ll support them,” Roberts told the Japanese media, as reported by Jack Harris of the LA Times. “But I do think that the pitching, it’s a lot on the body, the arm. The rest will be beneficial for next year, for our season. But we understand how important the WBC is for these individual players and for the country of Japan.”

Although the team won’t explicitly state it, the Dodgers would likely prefer their star players to skip the upcoming WBC following their deep playoff runs over the past two years. However, they also understand the significance of the international competition to Japan.

Ohtani debuted as a pitcher for the Dodgers in June and pitched a total of 67.1 innings during the regular season and postseason. Whether or not he pitches in the WBC, he is still expected to be a hitter.

Yamamoto finished a season with career highs in innings pitched (173.2) and starts (30). He concluded the Dodgers’ World Series journey by securing wins in consecutive elimination games.

Mookie Betts is coming off one of his worst offensive seasons of his Hall of Fame career and just fully transitioned to a new defensive position at shortstop, which took up a lot of time last offseason to train for.

Freddie Freeman is entering his age-36 season and has dealt with numerous overbody injuries, along with ankle surgery from last offseason.

Ultimately, it is up to the players whether they participate, but in the coming weeks, we should have clearer information on who will be playing and who will remain at Camelback Ranch.

Sasaki missed most of his rookie season due to a shoulder injury, but returned late in the year and found success as a reliever. Because he spent most of the season on the 60-day injured list, the Dodgers could block Sasaki from participating in the WBC.

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