Los Angeles Dodgers Yoshinobu Yamamoto Heads Latest Additions to WBC Squad; Seiya Suzuki, Kazuma Okamoto Also Included

The Yomiuri Shimbun

16:06 JST, January 26, 2026

World Series MVP Yoshinobu Yamamoto has joined Los Angeles Dodgers teammate Shohei Ohtani on Japan’s team for this year’s World Baseball Classic, as the right-hander was among 10 players added to the roster on Monday.

Major league-bound sluggers Munetaka Murakami and Kazuma Okamoto were also named in the announcement by NPB Enterprise, adding to the 19 previously named in the first two waves that included Ohtani and leaving just one remaining place on the 30-man roster.

“Being able to represent Japan fills me with a sense of resolve,” Yamamoto said in a statement. “I have been training hard this offseason to be in condition to play at the WBC.”

The Japanese team, known as “Samurai Japan” and managed by Hirokazu Ibata, will be the defending champion when the World Baseball Classic is held in March.

Along with Yamamoto, four more pitchers were added to the team. Chunichi Dragons right-hander Hiroto Takahashi and Orix Buffaloes southpaw Hiroya Miyagi were members of the previous championship team in 2023, while Orix left-hander Ryuhei Sotani and Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters right-hander Koki Kitayama will be making their first appearances.

Chicago Cubs outfielder Seiya Suzuki, who missed out on the 2023 tournament due to an injury, was named along with infielders Murakami, Okamoto and the Hiroshima Carp’s Kaito Kozono, the Central League batting champion this past season. Tokyo Yakult Swallows catcher Yuhei Nakamura was selected for the second time.

Murakami, formerly of the Swallows, joined the Chicago White Sox, while former Okamoto moved from the Yomiuri Giants to the Toronto Blue Jays.