LOS ANGELES — World Series MVP Yoshinobu Yamamoto plans to pitch for Team Japan in the 2026 World Baseball Classic, while Roki Sasaki is not expected to participate, according to reports from Japanese publications.

Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani already announced on his Instagram account that he plans to play for Japan (the defending champion) in the WBC this spring.

The Dodgers met with Team Japan manager Hirokazu Ibata during the Winter Meetings in Orlando earlier this week. But Dodgers general manager Brandon Gomes would not confirm the Yamamoto or Sasaki decisions.

“There’s still conversations with Major League Baseball and the (players’ union) and there’s all these formalities we have to go through before anything is official,” Gomes said on Friday. “So the reports that I’ve heard abou

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