Baseball season will start a little early next year, as teams from across the globe will come together for the 2026 World Baseball Classic beginning March 5.
Several Dodgers players, including Shohei Ohtani, Roki Sasaki, Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Will Smith have already committed to playing for their home countries in the WBC, with others still undecided.
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Dodgers first baseman Freddie Freeman, who holds dual U.S.-Canadian citizenship, has made it clear that he wants to represent Canada in the WBC, but might be held back by a lingering injury.
Team Canada general manager Greg Hamilton told reporters at MLB’s Winter Meetings on Tuesday that Freeman “really wants to play,” but is currently dealing with “a little bit of a health issue,” according to Sportsnet’s Ben Nicholson-Smith.
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It is unclear what specifically is ailing Freeman, with Hamilton crediting the injury to the wear and tear of playing a long season. Freeman had to withdraw from the 2023 WBC after he tweaked his hamstring.
The Dodgers have been supportive of their stars’ desires to represent their countries in the WBC, but have expressed their concerns about potential injuries that might arise and affect the team’s start to the season, which begins just nine days after the WBC’s conclusion. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts expressed his concern specifically in regards to Ohtani, Yamamoto and Sasaki, who are all in line to pitch for Team Japan.
“I would like to think that it’s going to be a dialogue as far as restrictions and limitations, in the sense of just trying to give them the opportunity,” Roberts said Monday at baseball’s Winter Meetings. “They’ve come off some stuff, some long seasons, and certainly with Yamamoto and looking out for 2026. But right now there’s no more clarity than we had before.”
Roberts added that he expected Ohtani would just hit and not pitch during the WBC, saying that the two-way star is “very in tune with his body.”
Photo Credit: Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images
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