Major League Baseball is back, and for the first time in six years, MLB games will be played in Japan this season. The Chicago Cubs and defending World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers will open the 2025 regular season with two games in Tokyo starting early Tuesday morning in the States. The games will be played at the iconic Tokyo Dome, home of Nippon Professional Baseball’s Yomiuri Giants.
“I think it’s a great way to start a season in terms of team bonding. It’s tough to think of a better way,” Cubs manager Craig Counsell said about the Tokyo Series (via MLB.com). “We could go play laser tag or something like that. Or we could go to Japan. I like the Japan idea a little better. You could do trust falls or these team-building things. Or we could go to Japan. I like Japan better. Let’s go to Japan and play the Dodgers. That seems like more fun.”
No MLB team has more Japanese talent than these two. The Dodgers are of course led by the singular Shohei Ohtani, who will return to the mound later this year and join righties Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Roki Sasaki in the rotation. The Cubs feature lefty Shota Imanaga and slugger Seiya Suzuki. Imanaga, Ohtani, Sasaki, Suzuki, and Yamamoto are five of the 15 Japanese players currently under contract with MLB teams.
“The stadium doesn’t hold 100 million people, which is approximately how many Japanese people would love to see Shohei and Yoshi and Roki,” Dodgers president Stan Kasten told USA Today last week. “Everyone appreciates the historic significance unlike any other international adventure we’ve ever undertaken in baseball … This is going to be off the charts.”
“Thanks to the Japanese players who have challenged the major leagues in the past, the two of us pitching against each other is attracting attention,” Imanaga said after he and Yamamoto were named the Game 1 starters last month (via Kyodo News). “So first of all, I want to express my gratitude to the Japanese players of the past. I will be very happy if more children get to see baseball and it becomes an opportunity for them to start playing.”
Yamamoto joined the Dodgers on a pitcher-record 12-year, $325 million contract last offseason. He missed much of the 2024 regular season with a shoulder issue, though he was arguably their top starter in the postseason. Imanaga signed a four-year, $54 million contract last winter and threw 173 ⅓ innings with a 2.91 ERA. That earned him a fourth-place finish in the NL Rookie of the Year voting and a fifth-place finish in the NL Cy Young voting.
It should be noted Imanaga and Yamamoto (and Ohtani and Sasaki) were teammates on Team Japan in the 2023 World Baseball Classic. Imanaga started the Championship Game against Team USA. Suzuki was on Japan’s original WBC roster, but had to withdraw from the event with an oblique injury.
3. Both teams will bring extra players
Understandably, the Cubs and Dodgers were both allowed to bring extra players on the trip. Calling someone up in the event of an injury in Game 1 would have been a wee bit difficult, you know? Each team was allowed to bring five extra players to Tokyo, so that’s the 26-man active roster and five backups. The 31 players the Cubs brought to Japan can be seen here.
Notably absence: Nico Hoerner, Chicago’s Gold Glove second baseman. He is in the final stages of his rehab from last October’s flexor surgery and will not be ready to play in Tokyo, but is expected to be ready for the traditional Opening Day on March 27. Hoerner stayed behind in Arizona and will continue his rehab work and preparation there.
In terms of roster status, each team is given three “inactive” spots for the Tokyo Series, and Hoerner will occupy one of those. What that means is the Cubs do not have to put him on the injured list to keep him off their 26-man active roster for Japan, which would affect his availability when the domestic portion of Chicago’s regular season begins next week.
Here now are the 31 players the Dodgers brought to Japan:
Fifth starter Dustin May did not make the trip. Like Hoerner, May remained in Arizona to continue working out there, and occupies one of the team’s three “inactive” spots. May missed the 2024 season with elbow and esophageal surgery. Other notable Dodgers like Tony Gonsolin, Clayton Kershaw, and Gavin Stone are already on the injured list.
The roster rules for the Tokyo Series are the same as the roster rules for last year’s Seoul Series between the Dodgers and San Diego Padres. The Dodgers and Padres split two games in Korea from March 20-21. Neither team made a roster move during the two-game series, though they brought extra players on the trip, just in case.
4. Betts will miss the series
Dodgers shortstop Mookie Betts will miss the two-game Tokyo Series with an illness that surfaced before the team even traveled to Japan, manager Dave Roberts announced Monday. Betts, who Roberts said has lost close to 15 pounds while sick, did not play in the team’s exhibition games against the Hanshin Tigers and Yomiuri Giants, and he felt fatigued during workouts. The team is considering sending him home early to rest and recover before the domestic home opener on March 27.
“The thing is when you lose a lot of weight, when you’re dehydrated, that’s what opens a person up to soft-tissue injuries,” Roberts said. “We’re very mindful of that. So to take the next week, call it, to build him back up, his strength, do some baseball activities to get ready for the home opener.”
Miguel Rojas started both exhibition games at shortstop over the weekend. He is the odds-on favorite to man the position in Betts’ place. Chris Taylor, who came off the bench to play a few innings at short on Saturday, would be the backup.
5. These are 2025’s only international games
Regular-season games, anyway. The Red Sox will play a pair of exhibition games against Sultanes de Monterrey of the Mexican League in Monterrey, Mexico, on March 24-25. Otherwise MLB will not play any other international games this season. The league initially planned to play games in Paris, Mexico City, and San Juan this year, though those ideas all fell apart for various reasons. The collective bargaining agreement includes provisions for regular-season games in Mexico City, London, and San Juan in 2026, which is also a World Baseball Classic year. For 2025 though, the Tokyo Series will be the only regular-season games played internationally.
6. The Cubs and Dodgers still have to finish spring training
After the Tokyo Series, the Cubs will return to Arizona and the Dodgers will head to Southern California to wrap up their exhibition season. It’s a long trip (12-hour flight) with a big time change (16-hour time difference) and the two teams will have several days to adjust back to normal after the two-game Tokyo Series. Here is each team’s upcoming schedule:
|
March 18-19 |
Tokyo Series |
Tokyo Series |
|
March 20 |
travel |
travel |
|
March 21 |
vs. Padres |
day off |
|
March 22 |
vs. Rockies |
day off |
|
March 23 |
vs. Athletics |
vs. Angels at Dodger Stadium |
|
March 24 |
vs. Braves |
vs. Angels at Angel Stadium |
|
March 25 |
vs. Braves |
vs. Angels at Angel Stadium |
|
March 26 |
day off |
day off |
|
March 27 |
Opening Day atDiamondbacks |
Opening Day vs. Tigers |
The Cubs head back to Arizona and stay there through the end of spring training and to play the D-backs when the traditional portion of the regular season begins on March 27.
After the Tokyo Series, both the Cubs and Dodgers will have a few days off to rest before resuming their regular season. The Cubs regulars are not expected to play in the March 21 and 22 exhibition games, as the players going to Tokyo will have some time off to recuperate before returning to the field.
On the other hand, the Dodgers will travel from Tokyo to Los Angeles, where they will also have a few days off before facing their annual three-game exhibition series against the Angels. Following this, the Dodgers will kick off their regular season against the Tigers at Dodger Stadium on Opening Day.
It may seem a bit unconventional, but it’s the most practical way to accommodate games on the other side of the world. Both teams will have a brief break after the Tokyo Series, play a few more exhibition games, and then get back to the regular season schedule. The sentence is already clear and concise. No changes necessary.