Shohei Ohtani couldn’t help but crack a Mike Trout joke despite not pitching in WBC

All eyes were glued to Field 1 at Camelback Ranch on Feb. 22, because that’s what happens when Shohei Ohtani decides to treat simulated inning like a headline. As Katie Woo reported for The Athletic, Ohtani faced live hitters for the second time this spring, threw roughly 30 pitches over two simulated innings, and touched 99 mph — then packed up, because his next stop is Japan for the World Baseball Classic.

Ohtani is not going to pitch in the WBC. Not because he can’t. But because the Dodgers are doing the most unsexy, responsible thing imaginable: protecting the one competitive advantage no other team can replicate.

Dodgers’ Shohei Ohtani isn’t pitching in the WBC, but his quote still hit hard

The quotes Woo included make the tension obvious. Ohtani says his pitching plan during the tournament is “fluid,” and he’ll do everything in his power to keep the quality and volume where it needs to be — basically promising he’s going to treat bullpens and live sessions like sacred appointments even while he’s in the middle of an international pressure cooker. 

Dave Roberts, meanwhile, is telling you the truth every manager hates admitting. They don’t know what the ramp-up will look like when Ohtani gets back, because it depends on how deep Japan goes.

That’s the Dodgers’ nightmare and their reality at the same time. They want Ohtani to have the WBC moment — but they also want him to start games in April and still be standing in October. Andrew Friedman said he believes Ohtani will open the season in the Dodgers’ rotation, which is the clearest sign this isn’t a slow play situation. 

And that’s why Friedman’s WBC stance matters so much. Friedman laid it out: coming off surgery, after pitching through October, with a quick turnaround into tournament intensity, the Dodgers are simply not letting Ohtani pitch in the WBC — because they want him pitching for the next eight years, not just for one emotionally perfect inning in March.

Then Ohtani did the most Ohtani thing possible and turned the whole debate into a punchline.

Asked if he’d lobby to pitch in the ninth inning of a gold medal game, he smiled: “Hard to say. But if (Mike) Trout shows up, it’s tempting.”

That joke is doing a lot of work. It’s a wink to the 2023 ending everyone still replays in their head. It’s also a reminder to Dodgers fans that the competitor is absolutely still there.