"On Monday, Ohtani announced on Instagram he is planning to participate in the WBC for the second time in his career. In the 2023 WBC, he won tournament MVP with a .435 batting average and 1.86 pitching ERA, helping Japan to that year's title. He punctuated the event with his memorable strikeout of Mike Trout for the final out in the championship game."
"After spending the first half of the 2025 season limited only to designated hitting duties while completing his recovery from a 2023 Tommy John procedure, the 31-year-old Ohtani resumed his two-way role over the second half, making 14 pitching starts for the Dodgers from June to September while increasing his workload one inning at a time. By the postseason, he was fully built up for full-length starts, and went on to throw 20⅓ innings over four playoff outings."
Shohei Ohtani has announced he will participate in next year's World Baseball Classic for Team Japan. Whether he will pitch in the March tournament remains unclear because it follows five months after his heavy Dodgers postseason workload. Ohtani served primarily as a designated hitter while recovering from 2023 Tommy John surgery, then resumed two-way duties in the second half of 2025 with 14 starts from June to September. He threw 20⅓ postseason innings, including a 2⅓-inning outing on three days' rest in World Series Game 7. The Dodgers will weigh his pitching workload alongside similar considerations for teammates Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Roki Sasaki.
Read at Los Angeles Times
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