5 Japanese stars Shohei Ohtani can make future Dodgers in the WBC

Shohtei Ohtani did not force any of his Team Japan members at the 2023 World Baseball Classic to join the Los Angeles Dodgers when they eventually made their way overseas. At the time, Ohtani himself was about to enter his final season with another team – the Angels – and was openly recruited by the likes of Lars Nootbaar, who played for Japan and is a longtime member of the Cardinals. But, there is no denying that the camaraderie of playing with one's countrymen played a role in the building of the Dodgers death star.

Just a few years later, and Yoshinobu Yamamoto plus Roki Sasaki are both on the Dodgers. Other Japanese superstars, like Tatsuya Imai, Kazuma Okamoto and Munetaka Murakami, all opted to sign elsewhere, but each of their free agencies did include a Dodgers flirtation. Can Ohtani work his magic again in 2026 to maintain the Dodgers superteam in their formative years?

LHP Hiroya Miyagi

• Age: 24
• 2025 stats: 150.1 IP, 2.39 ERA, 1.098 WHIP, 165 K

Per international posting rules, it will not be easy for the Dodgers to sign Miyagi unless he chooses to sign a similar deal to the one Roki Sasaki agreed to just last winter. Sasaki was 23 years old at the time – 24 now – and similarly raw.

However, what's working in the Dodgers favor is the fact that Miyagi was a teammate of Yoshinobu Yamamoto – who signed the richest contract in MLB history for a left-handed pitcher when he made the journey east – and idolized him. Miyagi even wears the same number as Yamamoto – No. 18 – ever since Yoshi joined the Dodgers. If that's not love, I don't know what is.

Miyagi finished second to Hiromi Itoh for the Sawamura Award last season, which goes to NPB's best pitcher. He had a 5.50 strikeout-to-walk ratio, and finished second among Pacific League pitchers in ERA.

LHP, Ryuhei Sotani

• Age: 25
• 2025 stats: 124.2 IP, 3.75 ERA, 1.291 WHIP, 116 K

Sotani's numbers are a bit inflated from the 2025 season, which was his worst as a professional. If he were to join MLB, Sotani would likely do so as a relief pitcher to start. Much like Sasaki and Miyagi, Sotani is a raw talent who needs some refining, especially beyond his fastball and slider.

Sotani's fastball is one of the best in NPB, as he held opposing hitters to a .177 average against the pitch. It's his second-most frequent pitch, but Sotani would have to add even more swing-and-miss potential, plus some velocity to his fastball, if he were to regularly face MLB competition. The good news is that slider already has an incredible nickname: the roller-coaster.

Much like Yamamoto and Miyagi, Sotani is a pitcher for the Orix Buffaloes, which churn out potential MLB starters routinely. Assuming the Dodgers need relief help one of these offseasons, Sotani could be an affordable option no one sees coming.

3B Teruaki Satō

• Age: 26
• 2025 stats (NPB): .277/.345/.579, 40 HR, 10 SB

Teruaki Satō will be a big leaguer. It's a matter of when, and not if. While Satō's aggressive approach could get him in trouble against MLB pitchers who tend to take advantage of that sort of thing, he also has raw, unmatched power in NPB. Here's how FanSided's Chris Landers put it when describing Satō as one of the best non-MLB players in the World Baseball Classic this year.

"Over the last couple of years, however, he's put it all together, culminating in a 2025 campaign in which he clubbed an NPB-leading 40 homers while taking home Central League MVP honors. Combine that pop with credible defense at third base, and you've got one heck of an all-around player — one who's already expressed interest in coming to MLB in the near future," Landers wrote.

That's high praise. Satō could be one of Ohtani's top recruiting targets at the WBC because of his power, and the lineup protection he'd receive in Los Angeles.

OF Shōta Morishita

• Age: 25
• 2025 stats (NPB): .275/.350/.463, 23 HR, 5 SB

Satō and Morishita are next to each other on this list for a reason – they're teammates for the Hanshin Tigers. Morishita had a 171 wRC+ in 2025, which was second to Satō, but is also one of the best defensive players in NPB. That'll travel well, whether it be to Los Angeles or elsewhere.

Unlike some Japanese imports from NPB, Morishita handles high velocity better than any of his rivals. This should open a door for him to MLB stardom sooner than most, as what can hold international hitters back is the sheer speed of a major-league fastball, as well as the drop-off in the rest of their arsenal.

This will be most baseball fans' first time watching Morishita, as he is making his WBC debut for Japan. Ohtani is already familiar with his game, so he and Yamamoto have a leg up on recruiting him to the Dodgers.

RHP Hiromi Itoh

• Age: 28
• 2025 stats (NPB): 196.2 IP, 2.52 ERA, 1.058 WHIP, 195 K

The World Baseball Classic should be Itoh's breakout performance, and one that puts him on the list of every international scout. While Yamamoto will rightly take his place as Japan's ace, the likes of Yu Darvish, Tatsuya Imai and Shohei Ohtani will not pitch in the WBC this time around. That creates an opportunity for someone like Itoh, who at 28 years old is at the right age to make the jump to MLB sooner rather than later.

Itoh has everything, from one of the best high-velocity fastballs in NPB to a wicked slider and even an eephus pitch he brings out on occasion. While one would assume Japan would've used Itoh in abundance last WBC, that just wasn't the case. Japan's pitching staff was incredibly deep in the 2023 WBC, which left Itoh in the bullpen, where he barely pitched. That should be different this time around.

Itoh's only had one season with an ERA over 3.00 so far in his professional career. He's as consistent as they come. While the Dodgers have an incredible array of arms already, why not collect one more?

More MLB news and analysis: