Yoshinobu Yamamoto Named Dodgers' Opening-day Starter For Second Straight Season

PHOENIX — It’s only fitting that nan pitcher who recorded nan Dodgers’ last 8 outs of nan World Series will return nan mound connected opening day, arsenic nan nine tries to prime up wherever it near disconnected successful 2025 and pursuit a 3rd consecutive title successful 2026.

Dodgers head Dave Roberts said Monday that World Series MVP Yoshinobu Yamamoto will toed nan rubber for nan March 26 opener astatine Dodger Stadium against nan Arizona Diamondbacks — nan 2nd consecutive twelvemonth he’s had nan grant and nan first clip astatine home, aft pitching past season’s opener successful Tokyo against nan Chicago Cubs.

Roberts added Yamamoto is expected to return to Camelback Ranch soon, aft participating successful nan World Baseball Classic pinch Team Japan. The Samurai Warriors, seeking a 2nd consecutive WBC title, were eliminated by Team Venezuela Saturday nighttime successful nan quarterfinals.

Yamamoto is expected to make 1 much commencement successful nan Cactus League earlier opening day, though nan day has yet to beryllium scheduled, according to Roberts.

Shohei Ohtani returned to Dodgers campy Monday morning, and Roberts plans to person a speech pinch him soon astir configuring his throwing scheme starring up to regular play play. Per Roberts, Ohtani threw 4 innings successful a simulated crippled while pinch Team Japan past Thursday.

“He’s going to get present and propulsion a bullpen,” Roberts said, adding: “I’m trying to fig retired erstwhile we tin get him into a game, but it should beryllium present successful nan adjacent time aliases two, to return immoderate astatine bats. But arsenic acold arsenic his progression, there’s going to beryllium a bullpen soon, and [we’re] trying to fig retired what time he’s going to transportation this week. It should beryllium this week, but I’m not judge which time yet.”

Ohtani has not sounded successful a Cactus League crippled and did not transportation successful nan WBC. Roberts does not expect nan four-time MVP to beryllium afloat stretched retired by nan commencement of nan regular season. Still, arsenic Roberts notes, he’s further on than he was astatine this clip a twelvemonth ago, erstwhile he was moving his measurement backmost from Tommy John surgery.

“I deliberation this twelvemonth we’re surely northbound of that, I don’t spot really we won’t beryllium capable to get to 3 aliases 4 innings successful a awesome convention game, truthful that’s surely a amended jumping-off constituent than past year, truthful we’ll spot really it goes,” Roberts said.

Beyond Yamamoto, Ohtani and trusty seasoned Tyler Glasnow, nan Dodgers’ backmost extremity of nan rotation is still taking shape. Though Roberts had considered a six-man rotation to statesman regular play play, he indicated Monday that he expects nan nine to usage a five-man rotation, noting that things are still “fluid.”

Last week, Roberts said he “didn’t spot a world successful which Roki Sasaki doesn’t break [camp] arsenic a starter.” That would time off 1 rotation spot up for nan taking, pinch 25-year-old Justin Wrobleski, 26-year-old Emmet Sheehan and 27-year-old River Ryan among those successful nan running.