Los Angeles Angels two-way star Shohei Ohtani, San Diego Padres pitcher Yu Darvish and Chicago Cubs outfielder Seiya Suzuki were among the first 12 men named to Japan's World Baseball Classic roster Friday by manager Hideki Kuriyama.
"Of the all great players from Japan, we're considering what will be the group best suited to take on the best players in the world, and see how well our baseball translates," Kuriyama said. "We want to demonstrate the quality of Japanese baseball."
"Times have been hard, but perhaps we can brighten the mood a bit, not just by doing our best but by winning the whole thing."
Darvish, who pitched for Japan in the 2009 tourney and has 188 top-flight wins between Japan and MLB, is, at 36, the eldest of the first group of players.
"I will diligently prepare so that my pitching will help carry the team toward a world championship," Darvish said in a statement.
From Nippon Professional Baseball, 22-year-old Triple Crown-winning slugger Munetaka Murakami, 21-year-old perfect game pitcher Roki Sasaki and two-time Sawamura Award winner Yoshinobu Yamamoto have been selected for March's tournament.
Ohtani will make his WBC debut after missing the fourth and most recent edition in 2017 with a right ankle injury.
The complete roster is expected to be announced in late January before a training camp in Miyazaki between Feb. 17 and 27.
Japan, the champion of the first two editions of the WBC in 2006 and 2009, was knocked out in the last two semifinals in 2013 and 2017. Kuriyama's team will start its Pool B campaign at Tokyo Dome on March 9 against China.
Two warm-up exhibition series were announced. One will be against the Pacific League's SoftBank Hawks at Miyazaki's Sun Marine Stadium on Feb. 25 and 26, and the other against the Central League's Chunichi Dragons at Vantelin Dome Nagoya on March 3 and 4.
Two final warm-ups will be played at Kyocera Dome Osaka on March 6 against the CL's Hanshin Tigers and the following day against the PL champion Orix Buffaloes.
Pitchers: Yu Darvish (San Diego Padres), Shosei Togo (Yomiuri Giants), Roki Sasaki (Lotte Marines), Shohei Ohtani (Los Angeles Angels), Yoshinobu Yamamoto (Orix Buffaloes) and Shota Imanaga (DeNA BayStars)
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Catcher: Takuya Kai (SoftBank Hawks)
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Infielders: Sosuke Genda (Seibu Lions), Shugo Maki (DeNA BayStars), Munetaka Murakami (Yakult Swallows)
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Outfielders: Kensuke Kondo (SoftBank Hawks), Seiya Suzuki (Chicago Cubs)
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