Shohei Ohtani, Mookie Betts, Freddie Freeman Attended Dodgers’ Meeting With Yoshinobu Yamamoto
The Dodgers met with free agent starting pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto on Tuesday at Dodger Stadium to convince him to come to Los Angeles. As far as star power goes, they pulled out all the stops.
Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic reported Mookie Betts, Freddie Freeman and the newest Dodger – Shohei Ohtani – all joined the meeting with Yamamoto. This signals that the team is all-in on landing the best free agent pitcher out of Japan, if not any country, this off-season.
Additionally, Will Smith — Yamamoto’s potential batterymate — was in attendance, too.
This is massive news and should help the Dodgers in their recruitment of Yamamoto. He’s reportedly being pursued by the San Francisco Giants, New York Mets, and New York Yankees among other teams. Some have speculated his contract could push $300 million or more.
Having Ohtani at the meeting could help explain the sequence of the Dodgers’ off-season plan. Getting his contract officially on the books first secured his presence for a later meeting with Yamamoto – and any other free agents the Dodgers are looking to recruit.
But Ohtani wasn’t the only Dodger present Tuesday.
“Betts, whom Yamamoto is said to be fond of as a player, was in attendance. So was Freeman, the fellow MVP candidate who represented the franchise’s biggest-ever free-agent splash until this week. But the most notable name was the newest Dodger, who will be officially introduced at a press conference on Thursday afternoon.”
Per Fabian Ardaya and Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic
Some scouts believe Yamamoto is the best pitcher to come over from Japan. If true, he would give the Dodgers a true front-line starter for 2024 and beyond. L.A. has been searching for an ace-level pitcher to headline their staff next season, and Yamamoto certainly would fit the bill.
It has been reported that Yamamoto grew up a fan of the Dodgers, further helping their case. But this level of star power at his meeting does mean something.
After landing Ohtani, the Dodgers are continuing to go all-in. With the deferrals in Ohtani’s contract, L.A. has the freedom to spend more money, and this is exactly the type of move Ohtani had in mind when he agreed to the deal. The Dodgers are talking to the Tampa Bay Rays about a deal to bring starter Tyler Glasnow to town.
It remains to be seen if Yamamoto will ultimately choose the Dodgers, but their chances got a big boost Tuesday.
Photo Credit: Yukihito Taguchi-USA TODAY Sports
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I love Yamamoto, bringing him to LA too join Ohtani will solidify the Dodgers instantly making them the world series favorites. I like Glasnow as well but I would rather have pepiot. Mark my words, pepiot is going to be a phenomenal player. He will soon establish himself as one of the best in MLB baseball.