The Los Angeles Dodgers are losing their ace, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, to Team Japan, where he will be their leading pitcher in the World Baseball Classic.
Yamamoto has been the workhorse for Los Angeles over the last year, coming in with no rest in Game 7 of the World Series and, overall, the MVP of the team during the postseason, giving them long runs of work without giving up runs.
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The Dodgers had a bullpen problem during the 2025 run, which led to stretching out the starters, who all did a good job of going deep into high-leverage games, though Yamamoto stood out among the rest.
During the offseason, he pushed himself hard despite the innings racked up, though he reported to Spring Training fully healthy and ramped himself up quickly.
Feb 27, 2026; Scottsdale, Arizona, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto (18) throws against the San Francisco Giants in the first inning at Scottsdale Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Rick Scuteri-Imagn Images
Yamamoto pitched in two Spring Training games, throwing three innings, racking up five hits, two earned runs, four strikeouts on 52 pitches of work.
It is his final tune-up before departing for the WBC on Friday night, to join teammate Shohei Ohtani in the quest to defend their international crown.
Dave Roberts addresses Yamamoto’s departure
Dave Roberts is seemingly not worried about Yamamoto pushing his body during the WBC, ahead of an important season for the Dodgers, who are trying to win their third straight World Series title.
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Last year, they battled rotation injuries during the season, which pushed organizational depth, though Roberts trusts Yamamoto’s understanding of his body.
“And there’s kind of like, for example, Yoshinobu knows when he’s going to pitch for Team Japan, and we’re aligned as far as our organization, our pitching guys, he’s comfortable with it,” Roberts said of Yamamoto.
“You know, he’s just kind of wishing him well and play well and that’s kind of about it. We’ll see our U.S. guys here for a little bit longer.”
Before his start, Roberts highlighted how the team will miss Yamamoto’s ability to set the tone and lead by example with his work ethic.
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“But I was just watching him get loose in the locker room and he’s focused like he always is and we’re going to miss him,” Roberts said.
As long as Yamamoto stays healthy and his unique training methods keep him in top shape, the Dodgers will gladly loan him to Team Japan to honor the player’s wish to don the nation’s uniform.