After an injury kept him out of the 2017 World Baseball Classic, Los Angeles Angels two-way sensation Shohei Ohtani now appears to be on track to participate a year from now when the tournament resumes after a six-year hiatus.
The 2023 edition, originally scheduled for March 2021 but pushed back due to the coronavirus pandemic after its 2020 qualifying rounds were postponed, was in doubt until MLB agreed with its union on a new labor deal and the owners ended their lockout.
Ohtani had been on track to compete in the 2017 WBC as the reigning MVP of the Pacific League, but injured his ankle in the 2016 Japan Series and aggravated it in Japan's international friendlies that November.