LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – AUGUST 05: Shohei Ohtani #17 of the Los Angeles Dodgers looks on from the dugout during the ninth inning against the St. Louis Cardinals at Dodger Stadium on August 05, 2025 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Katelyn Mulcahy/Getty Images)
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The Los Angeles Dodgers will begin their quest for a third straight World Series championship shortly, with the bulk of their star-studded roster set to return.
The team will have a chance to run it back with future Hall of Famers like Freddie Freeman and Mookie Betts once again leading the charge. But even though there are only two months until pitchers and catchers report for spring training, there is some concern that things could go awry this winter.
The Dodgers’ trio of Japanese stars, Shohei Ohtani, Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Roki Sasaki, have all signaled their plans to participate in the World Baseball Classic (WBC) in March. The event is particularly important for Japanese players, as their team won the tournament in its last iteration. But Major League Baseball teams typically do not want their pitchers to participate, as it puts extra stress on their arms and increases the chance for injury.
With Ohtani, the concerns are particularly pronounced, as he is the most valuable player in the sport and has endured several pitching injuries throughout his career.
“We’ll support them,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said of the trio, per Jack Harris of the Los Angeles Times. “But I do think that the pitching, it’s a lot on the body, the arm. The rest will be beneficial for next year, for our season. But we understand how important the WBC is for these individual players and for the country of Japan.”
With concerns swirling around the potential for Ohtani to tax his arm by choosing to participate as both a pitcher and a hitter in the event, former Dodgers Cy Young Award winner and three-time All-Star Eric Gagne sent a clear message about why he thinks Ohtani should take the mound anyway.
“There is more of a risk, but every time you step on the field there’s a risk there as well,” Gagne told the New York Post’s Edward Lewis. “I think the game outweighs the risk.”
Gagne added that he wants Ohtani, Yamamoto and Sasaki to all throw in the WBC because “baseball needs it” and because “it’s fun for the fans,” per Lewis.
There is little question that fans, particularly those in Japan, would like to see Ohtani both pitch and hit in the tournament. And if that’s what he wants to do, the Dodgers have little power to stop him.
But after Roberts voiced his concerns about the extra strain that would put on his arm, it’s clear the Dodgers see things a little differently than Gagne does.
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/peterchawaga/2025/12/05/dodgers-3-time-all-star-sends-shohei-ohtani-message-as-concerns-mount/
