Cody Snavely
TOKYO—The 2025 Major League Baseball regular season is right around the corner. The Los Angeles Dodgers and Chicago Cubs are in Tokyo, Japan, preparing for their two-game series this upcoming week on March 18th and 19th.
Now that both teams have landed and settled in the city and the Tokyo Dome, we have plenty of updates on the roster, Ohtani, Sasaki, and the team’s plan for tomorrow’s split-squad games.
First, the team officially announced the thirty-one-player travel roster, which we posted yesterday. But as it stands, this is the confirmed roster for the two-game set.
First, the team officially announced the thirty-one-player travel roster, which we posted yesterday. But as it stands, this is the confirmed roster for the two-game set.
Two-way (1): Shohei Ohtani
Pitchers (16): Anthony Banda, Ben Casparius, Jack Dreyer, Nick Frasso, Luis García, Tyler Glasnow, Landon Knack, Roki Sasaki, Matt Sauer, Tanner Scott, Blake Snell, Blake Treinen, Alex Vesia, Justin Wrobleski, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Kirby Yates
Catcher (3): Austin Barnes, Hunter Feduccia, Will Smith
Infielders (6): Mookie Betts, Tommy Edman, Freddie Freeman, Kiké Hernández, Max Muncy, Miguel Rojas
Outfielders (5): Michael Conforto, Teoscar Hernández, James Outman, Andy Pages, Chris Taylor
Noticeably left off the roster is right-handed pitcher Dustin May, who is staying in Arizona despite winning the fifth spot in the Opening Day rotation.
The Dodgers had their first round of interviews yesterday, and the most significant one was with two-way superstar and three-time Most Valuable Player Award winner Shohei Ohtani, who gave updates as to why he stopped his progress as a pitcher during spring training.
Ohtani confirmed that it is not a physical injury. Like what was reported last week, it was more of a way for him to focus on the hitting side of his game, preparing for the early regular-season start next week.
Ohtani stated he wanted “a little bit of a breather mentally and physically” from his pitching rehab, which is why he has slowed down on that front. However, Ohtani confirmed all was going well with his rehab there, but it seemed necessary to slow down the pitching for now.
While Dodgers manager Dave Roberts and Ohtani himself slapped a possible mid-May return date to the mound, the President of Baseball Operations did not state that they’ll know when he’s ready but would not confirm when they would likely be.
The Dodgers do have the luxury of taking their time with Ohtani right now, as they have plenty of starting pitching options and will go with a traditional five-man starting rotation due to the multiple off days sprinkled in throughout the first month of the season.
While the anticipation for the season opener is high as it’s the first Opening Day matchup between two Japanese national pitchers in Japan, the first in Major League Baseball history, Game Two is arguably higher as it’ll be the debut of 23-year-old righty Roki Sasaki.
When Sasaki was asked about starting Game Two in his home country, the righty shared his familiarity with the country and the stadium. “I literally was in Japan until a couple months ago, so for me it’s more about being able to pitch in a different uniform and making sure I do my best.”
Sasaki was posted by the Chiba Lotte Marines in January after playing for four seasons, posting a 2.10 ERA in 394.2 innings pitched and helping Team Japan win the 2023 World Baseball Classic.
So, Sasaki is not wrong about his comfort level, as he only appeared in two Cactus League games for the Dodgers this spring, each with great results, totaling seven combined scoreless innings.
Like his Samurai Japan teammate Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Roki Sasaki will be making his Major League debut overseas but hopes to have better success than Yamamoto last season, when the righty surrendered five runs in one inning of work.
Lastly, the excitement for the arrival of the Los Angeles Dodgers and Chicago Cubs is at an all-time high in Tokyo, Japan, as was the expectation due to the high presence of multiple Japanese superstars.
Yesterday, the Dodgers held their first official workout, and unlike last year in Seoul, South Korea, the practices are open to the public. The Japanese crowd did not disappoint, with a confirmed crowd of 10,507 fans at the Dodgers’ workout in the Tokyo Dome, according to Major League Baseball.
The hype caught the attention of Dodgers manager Dave Roberts, who stated the team’s goal of converting the Japanese faithful to Dodger Blue was a success.
“I think our mission was accomplished painting the country of Japan in Dodgers blue”
The Tokyo Dome has a capacity of 55,000, and both games are set to be sellouts. Tickets for nosebleed seats will cost thousands of dollars.
While the Dodgers are labeled as the away team for these two games, it’ll sure feel like a home opener with Yamamoto, Sasaki, and Ohtani leading the Dodgers and coming off winning the 2024 World Series over the New York Yankees.
However, before the first two games of the regular season start the Dodgers will play two exhibition games. Game One will be at 3 a.m. Pacific Daylight Time against the Yomiuri Giants, and Game Two will be at 8 p.m. Pacific Daylight Time against the Hanshin Tigers.
Roberts stated that the pitching plan for Game One will be a bullpen game and for Game Two lefty Blake Snell will start and Tyler Glasnow will piggyback off him.
The Yomiuri Giants announced ace Shosei Togo will be their starter against the Los Angeles Dodgers. The righty went 12-8 with a 1.95 ERA in 180 innings pitched during the 2024 NPB season.
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