Samurai Japan released a partial roster for next spring's World Baseball Classic on Tuesday, naming 18 players who will be part of the squad tasked with bringing the title back to Japan in March.
Pacific League MVP Shohei Otani, the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters' two-way sensation, headlined the list, which featured a number of holdovers from the Japan team that faced Mexico and the Netherlands during the four-game 2016 Samurai Japan Challenge in November.
"For Samurai Japan, the goal is to put together the strongest team possible and recapture the title," NPB commissioner Katsuhiko Kumazaki said in a statement. Japan won the first two editions of the WBC before losing in the semifinals of the 2013 tournament, which was won by the Dominican Republic.