Dodgers News: Roki Sasaki on Preliminary Team Japan Roster for WBC
It looks like Roki Sasaki will also be joining Shohei Ohtani in the WBC for Team Japan
ORLANDO, FL—Just when the Los Angeles Dodgers expected a typical offseason and spring training, things changed because the World Baseball Classic is scheduled to take place just before the start of the 2026 regular season.
With less than 100 days remaining before the international tournament begins, players across Major League Baseball have begun to announce their participation, including two-way superstar and four-time MVP award winner Shohei Ohtani, who announced that he’d be rejoining Team Japan in their quest for a repeat.
However, now with the preliminary rosters being announced for clubs, it appears fellow Dodgers teammate second-year right-hander Roki Sasaki’ll join him.
Although not officially confirmed, Sasaki is listed on the preliminary roster and is expected to join Team Japan for the 2026 WBC, as stated by Francys Romero.
Last month, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts was asked whether the organization would support his players playing in the WBC despite a back-to-back short offseason and a long regular season after starting the year overseas, to which he said yes.
The general consensus is that he would join the Samurai Japan roster along with Dodgers teammates Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Roki Sasaki, but nothing has been confirmed yet.
Similar to Ohtani and Yamamoto, Sasaki was part of the Japanese baseball team that secured the gold medal at the 2023 World Baseball Classic. The promising right-hander posted a 1-0 record, a 3.52 ERA, and struck out 11 batters across 7.2 innings.
While Dodgers General Manager Brandon Gomes confirmed Sasaki would rejoin the starting rotation this upcoming season, his role is still to be determined, given a surplus of arms and Sasaki’s struggles to begin the season.
While Sasaki rebounded and ended the season on a high note, he did so from the bullpen, which could be a solution for him in the future until he develops a third pitch.
Still, Sasaki is the latest player to be connected to the upcoming WBC, along with a handful of others that could join him in competition, including Freddie Freeman (Canada), Mookie Betts (United States), Will Smith (United States), and possibly Teoscar Hernández (Dominican Republic).
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