Dodgers Insider Confirms LA’s Interest In Free Agent Pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto

The Dodgers are in the market to add multiple starting pitchers this offseason, and the team is expected to be aggressive in doing so. They will be looking at all angles on the free agent market and by trade to improve their biggest weakness from a year ago.

One of the biggest targets for them this offseason is Japanese pitching sensation Yoshinobu Yamamoto, and he was officially posted Monday morning. Teams are now able to begin negotiating with him as of at 5 a.m. PT on Tuesday, and they will have until January 4 at 2 p.m. PT to strike a deal.

If no deal is to be had, Yamamoto will head back to Japan, but there is much interest in him around the league. Shortly after he was posted, Dodgers insider Fabian Ardaya confirmed that LA is indeed interested in the Japanese right-hander.

This should be music to the ears of the fans, and his market is expected to develop quickly with the hard deadline to sign him. However, with the deadline, it does mean that LA will need to be proactive in going after Yamamoto.

Normally the Dodgers let the market come to them, but with so many teams in need of pitching help this offseason, LA needs to be the aggressors. It could be the difference in them landing an ace-level pitcher like Yamamoto or not.

Yamamoto would give them the front-line starter that they are searching for this winter, and many fans have been clamoring for the team to land him. He is just 25 years old, so there is plenty of time for him to continue growing his game as well.

Many in the industry see Yamamoto as the best pitcher to come from Japan, which speaks to how great he is. The Dodgers could build their rotation around him for years, and they have the means to land him.

Yamamoto also reportedly prefers to pitch in a big market and on the West Coast, which further should help the chances of LA. It remains to be seen how this will play out, but many are hoping that he begins his career in the big leagues with the Dodgers.

Photo Credit: Yukihito Taguchi-USA TODAY Sports

Have you subscribed to our YouTube Channel yet? Subscribe and hit that notification bell to stay up to date on all the latest Dodgers news, rumors, interviews, live streams, and more!