Dodgers News: Ohtani Opted Out of WBC Pitching — and Insurance Wouldn’t Have Covered Him Anyway
Ohtani's personal decision aligned with insurance rules that would’ve left his WBC pitching unprotected.
LOS ANGELES, CA—With the 2026 Major League Baseball offseason coming to a close and spring training right around the corner, so too is the start of the upcoming 2026 World Baseball Classic.
As in 2023, the defending World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers are expected to be well represented in the international tournament, with multiple players set to play for their respective countries.
While two-way superstar and four-time MVP award winner Shohei Ohtani headlines these names, as he announced his participation earlier this winter, there was some doubt whether he’d be a full two-way player during the WBC as he was in 2023.
Well, during the annual DodgerFest over the weekend, we got our answer, and Dodgers manager Dave Roberts confirmed that Ohtani would not be taking the mound for Team Japan, further elaborating that it was Ohtani’s decision.
However, over the last week, the WBC has been hit with messy news: multiple MLB stars, including veteran utility infielder Miguel Rojas and All-Star shortstop Francisco Lindor, are unable to participate due to insurance issues, as are several other Team Puerto Rico players.
These insurance issues would also have affected Ohtani, according to Ken Rosenthal and Evan Drellich of The Athletic.
“So that means, if–this is a hypothetical–Ohtani were to pitch and were to be covered to pitch, which according to the information Ken (Rosenthal) and I had, he was not going to be. The insurance was not going to sign off on Shohei Ohtani being covered as a pitcher.”
The league requires contract insurance for WBC participation unless a team waives it. If the Dodgers did so and Ohtani got hurt, they’d still owe his full salary—unless Ohtani chose to forgo it himself, which is likely what Roberts meant when saying the decision was ultimately Ohtani’s.
National Financial Partners offers most of the coverage, but the firm has been selective in approving players following injuries to Jose Altuve and Edwin Díaz during the 2023 WBC.
If Ohtani were injured pitching in the WBC, the insurer would owe the Dodgers his full $70 million salary for the next four years, even though deferrals drop its present-day value to about $46 million.
Ohtani just returned to the mound last season after having missed all of the 2024 season recovering from season-ending Tommy John surgery at the end of 2023 with the Los Angeles Angels.
The Dodgers gradually developed Ohtani and gradually increased his workload for the playoffs. He ultimately pitched a total of 67.1 innings across the regular season and postseason.
Now the right-hander will focus on being a complete two-way player for the 2026 season as he hopes to compete for a fifth MVP and possibly a Cy Young Award.
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