SCOTTSDALE, AZ – Yoshinobu Yamamoto insists he has no concerns.
The Los Angeles Dodgers tell you, well, at least publicly, they have no worries.
And Dodgers fans will be at home watching with a knot in their stomachs, no sure how much success they want their ace to have in the World Baseball Classic, only that he returns fully healthy for the regular season.
Yoshinobu, after giving up five hits and two runs in three innings Friday against the San Franciso Giants in a 12-4 loss, is leaving for Tokyo where he will meet up with Shohei Ohtani and the rest of his teammates as Team Japan defends its WBC title.
“We’re going to miss him certainly when he’s away with Team Japan,’’ Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said, “but we absolutely got what we needed.’’
Yamamoto, who threw 37 of his 52 pitches for strikes, with four strikeouts, is tentatively scheduled to pitch against Chinese Taipei on March 6 in his WBC opener, where he will be limited to 65 pitches.
“I’m looking forward to that game against Taiwan,’’ he said. “I understand the passion of Taiwanese fans and baseball fans. So I think it’s special.’’
Yamamoto could pitch again in the quarterfinals with a 75-pitch limit, or if Japan advances to the semifinals in Miami, he could pitch the semifinal or championship game with a 95-pitch restriction.
“Yoshinobu knows when he’s going to pitch for Team Japan,’’ Roberts said. “And we’re aligned as far as our organization and our pitching guys. He’s comfortable with it.’’
So just how much will he pitch?
“It’s a secret,’’ Yamamoto said, laughing.
Yamamoto did concede that last season, pitching 211 innings last season, including 37.1 innings during the postseason in which he won the World Series MVP, had an effect on him. It wasn’t so much the physical effect, he said, but the mental stress.
“Mentally, I was a little bit tired,’’ he said. “You know, fatigue. But physically, I was good.’’
Now, after being in Arizona for most of February, he says he’s ready physically and mentally, hoping to lead Japan to back-to-back WBC titles in March, and the Dodgers to a World Series three-peat in October.
“I do think when the bell rings,’’ Roberts said, “he’s going to be fine, but I could certainly understand [with] what’s he gone through the last couple of years. It’s a tax mentally, but you know he’s going to have to ramp up for the WBC.
“We’ll see how he is when he gets back with us.’’
Certainly, Yamamoto has done everything possible to prepare for the workload after the short winter. He worked out six days a week, sometimes for six hours at a time beginning in December, preparing for this moment.
“The dude is an animal,’’ Dodgers teammate Kiké Hernández said on the “Baseball & Coffee’ podcast with Adam Ottavino. “Little guy, nicest guy in the world, but man … when he’s on the mound, that stadium is his, and he’s shown it.’
His value to the Dodgers can’t be understated. He not only is the Dodgers’ ace, but one of the select few Dodgers starters who are on schedule to open the season without restrictions.
Blake Snell, the Dodgers’ two-time Cy Young winner, has been bothered by shoulder fatigue and is still only playing catch at 90 feet. He certainly won’t be ready for opening day and is expected to open the season on the injured list.
Shohei Ohtani is healthy and scheduled to open the season in the starting rotation, but he didn’t pitch in a spring training game before leaving for Japan, and has no plans to pitch in the WBC either.
Emmit Sheehan missed a week with an illness, and is behind schedule.
Roki Sasaki struggled badly in his spring-training debut, and is no longer a lock to make the opening-day rotation.
Bobby Miller has shoulder tightness and still hasn’t pitched off the mound.
Brock Stewart is progressing well after shoulder surgery, but hasn’t pitched in a game, and will open the year on the IL.
Tyler Glasnow is healthy and pitched well in his spring-traiing debut, but he pitched just 90.1 innings last season with an assortment of injuries, and has pitched more than 100 innings just three times in his 10-year career.
And Clayton Kershaw is retired, coming back only to pitch in the WBC.
Needless to say, as deep and talented and rich as the Dodgers are, they badly need Yamamoto to be their ace again this season.
Yamamoto, who finished third in the NL Cy Young voting last season after going 12-8 with a 2.49 ERA and 201 strikeouts, struggled a bit with his command Friday, but was effective with all of his pitches, hitting 97 mph on his fastball. He gave up a leadoff homer to Willy Adames on a 3-2 curveball, and back-to-back hits to Matt Chapman and Heliot Ramos in the second inning, but finished his outing by not permitting the last seven batters to hit the ball out of the infield, with three strikeouts.
“After today’s game, I do feel I got the feeling I wanted,’’ Yamamoto said, “and was looking for, although there’s some more stuff I need to work on.’’
Certainly, according to the scouts on hand, he looks like he’s nearly ready for the season, and certainly the WBC.
So, inquiring WBC fans want to know, if Yamamoto is pitching in the championship game for Team Japan against Team USA, who will Dodgers fans cheer for in the potential matchup?
“That’s a great question,’’ Roberts said. “I would like to say the U.S., the ones that are U.S. citizens, but it’s probably going to be a split camp because there’s a lot of Yoshinobu fans, for sure.’’
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