Los Angeles Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani is expected to be back on the field as early as Saturday after sitting out one game for the arrival of his second child.
Ohtani was absent Friday night as the Dodgers topped the visiting Baltimore Orioles 6-5. The team opted not to place him on the paternity list — a move that would have allowed him to miss as many as three games — because they anticipated he would return quickly. Manager Dave Roberts told reporters he expects Ohtani to play this weekend against the Orioles, possibly as soon as Saturday.
Shortly before midnight local time, Ohtani shared the news on Instagram, announcing that his wife, Mamiko, had given birth.
Known for keeping his personal life extremely private, Ohtani shared no information about the baby’s gender or birth weight. The announcement included a photo of his dog, Decoy, along with an image of a newborn’s feet peeking out from beneath a blue blanket.
A statement from Ohtani and his wife accompanied the post: “We are again overjoyed to experience this wonderful day in our lives together.”
“Thank you for being born safely. We would also like to express our heartfelt gratitude to everyone who has supported us throughout this journey,” the statement continued.
Manager Roberts said he only learned about the pregnancy “only recently, very recently.”
This is not the first time Ohtani has shared a birth announcement this way. In April 2025, he revealed the arrival of their first child — a daughter — through a similar post. While her photo has not appeared on social media, references to events like Mother’s Day have included hints of pink.
The blue blanket in Friday’s post has many fans speculating that baby number two may be a boy.
Within just seven hours of the Instagram announcement going live, it had already received 1.6 million likes and a flood of congratulatory comments in both English and Japanese.
