Japan, which faces Venezuela in the 2026 World Baseball Classic (WBC) quarterfinals, has announced Yoshinobu Yamamoto (LA Dodgers), the World Series Most Valuable Player (MVP) from last year, as its starting pitcher.

According to major Japanese outlets including Sponichi Annex, Japan manager Hirokazu Ibata said at a press conference on the 13th at loanDepot Park in Miami, Florida, that Japan would go with Yamamoto for the game against Venezuela and that he wanted him to do his best.

Japan advanced to the quarterfinals by sweeping all four games in the group stage to finish first in Group C. It will face Venezuela, which went 3-1 to finish second in Group D, in a winner-take-all game for a semifinal berth. The quarterfinal between Japan and Venezuela will be held on the 15th at loanDepot Park.

After the 2023 season, Yamamoto made the jump to Major League Baseball (MLB), signing a record-setting 13-year, $325 million contract for a pitcher with the Dodgers. Last year he went 12-8 with a 2.49 ERA, emerging as the Dodgers ace. In the World Series against the Toronto Blue Jays, he appeared in three games (two starts) and went 3-0 with a 1.02 ERA, a dominant performance that delivered the Dodgers a second straight World Series title and earned him World Series MVP honors.

Because Yamamoto logged a heavy workload including the postseason last year, his participation in this WBC had been uncertain. He ultimately chose to take part to help Japan chase a second straight WBC title, and in the group stage he started against Taiwan, working 2.2 scoreless innings with no hits, three walks, and two strikeouts.

Ibata said they should not look too far ahead and just take it one pitch at a time, adding that (since a loss means elimination) he plans to keep bringing in pitchers and is putting measures in place step by step. As for the starting assignment beyond the quarterfinal, he explained that he had not yet decided.