LOS ANGELES (AFP) — The Los Angeles Dodgers placed Japanese superstar Shohei Ohtani on Major League Baseball’s paternity list on Friday as the three-time Most Valuable Player (MVP) and his wife, Mamiko, await the birth of their first child.

Ohtani, who stayed behind when the team traveled to Texas for a three-game series against the Rangers, can be on the list for up to three days.

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said there was “certainly a chance” that Ohtani could rejoin the team by the time the series ends on Sunday, but Roberts said he had no detailed information on that.

“He and Mamiko are expecting at some point, that’s all I know,” Roberts said.

“I don’t know when he’s going to come back.”

Ohtani announced on Instagram in January that he and Mamiko were expecting their first child, posting a picture of their dog, Decoy, posing along with a pink onesie infant’s outfit.

The reigning National League MVP has six home runs through the Dodgers first 20 games of the season.

He is also continuing his rehabilitation in the wake of a second elbow surgery as he eyes a return to the pitcher’s mound.

Roberts said he and Ohtani hadn’t discussed the 30-year-old’s impending fatherhood.

“He’s a very good compartmentalizer, but he loves his sleep,” Roberts said.

“It’ll be interesting to see how the sleep wins out or doesn’t win out when you have a baby.”

Ohtani, who signed a $700-million deal with the Dodgers before last season, announced in February 2024 that he had married, waiting several weeks to reveal his bride was former professional basketball player Mamiko Tanaka.