TOP STORY: Why Yoshinobu Yamamoto’s Addition to Team Japan’s WBC Rotation Changes the Tournament Landscape
January 27 – Team Japan announced Monday that Los Angeles Dodgers ace Yoshinobu Yamamoto will lead its rotation during the World Baseball Classic on March 5.
Yamamoto posted a 12-8 record with a 2.49 ERA during the 2025 regular season to earn third place in the National League Cy Young Award balloting, then he collected five postseason victories that included Games 2, 6 and 7 in the World Series.
“(Yamamoto) is Japan’s top pitcher,” Team Japan manager Hirokazu Ibata told reporters on Monday, according to The Athletic. “There is no doubt about that.”
Team Japan will defend its WBC title with a loaded roster that includes 15 players who helped earn the 2023 title. Yamamoto joins Dodgers teammate Shohei Ohtani at the top of the rotation. The Los Angeles Angels’ Yusei Kikuchi and ex-Baltimore Orioles starter Tomoyuki Sugano are also in the mix.
Yamamoto pitched twice in the 2023 WBC and posted a 1-0 record with a 2.45 ERA. Ohtani finished 2-0 with a 1.86 ERA and fanned the United States’ Mike Trout to collect the save in the championship game.
“Wearing a Japanese uniform once again fills me with a deep sense of pride and responsibility,” Yamamoto said in a statement on Team Japan’s website. “I’ve trained hard this offseason to be in the best possible condition for the WBC.”
Japan’s 15 position players feature three currently on MLB 40-man rosters: Chicago Cubs outfielder Seiya Suzuki, Chicago White Sox first baseman Munetaka Murakami and Toronto Blue Jays third baseman Kazuma Okamoto.
