Yoshinobu Yamamoto named Dodgers’ opening-day starter once again
PHOENIX — It’s only fitting that the pitcher who recorded the Dodgers’ last eight World Series outs takes the mound on Opening Day, as the club attempts to pick up where it left off in 2025 and win a third straight championship in 2026.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said Monday that World Series MVP Yoshinobu Yamamoto will be at the helm for the March 26 opener at Dodger Stadium against the Arizona Diamondbacks — the second straight year he has that honor and the first time at home, after pitching last season’s opener in Tokyo against the Chicago Cubs.
Roberts added that Yamamoto is expected to return to Camelback Ranch soon, after competing in the World Baseball Classic with Team Japan. The Samurai Warriors, seeking a second consecutive WBC title, were eliminated by Team Venezuela on Saturday night in the quarterfinals.
Yamamoto is expected to make another Cactus League start before Opening Day, although the date has not yet been set, according to Roberts.
Shohei Ohtani returned to Dodgers camp Monday morning and Roberts plans to have a conversation with him soon about setting up his pitching plan before the regular season game. According to Roberts, Ohtani pitched four innings in a simulated game while with Team Japan last Thursday.
“He’s going to come in here and throw a bullpen,” Roberts said, adding: “I’m trying to figure out when we can get him in a game, but he should be here in a day or two, taking some at-bats. But as far as his progression, there’ll be a bullpen soon, and [we’re] trying to figure out what day he’s going to pitch this week. It should be this week, but I don’t know what day yet.
Ohtani has not pitched in a Cactus League game and has not pitched in the WBC. Roberts doesn’t expect the four-time MVP to be completely exhausted by the start of the regular season. Still, as Roberts notes, he’s further along than he was a year ago, when he was coming back from Tommy John surgery.
“I think this year we’re definitely north of that, I don’t see how we can’t get to three or four innings in a major championship game, so it’s definitely a better place to start than last year, so we’ll see how it goes,” Roberts said.
Beyond Yamamoto, Ohtani and veteran stalwart Tyler Glasnow, the back of the Dodgers rotation is still taking shape. Although Roberts had considered a six-player rotation to begin the regular season, he indicated Monday that he expects the club to use a five-player rotation, noting that things are still “fluid.”
Last week, Roberts said he “didn’t see a world that Roki Sasaki wouldn’t break into.” [camp] as input. » That would leave a rotation spot up for grabs, with Justin Wrobleski, 25, Emmet Sheehan, 26, and River Ryan, 27, among those in contention.
