Dodgers Team News

Yoshinobu Yamamoto Liked San Francisco, Would Have Considered Giants if Dodgers Weren’t Interested

Always the bridesmaid, never the bride.

This old saying captures how the San Francisco Giants must be feeling after the last few offseasons competing against the Dodgers and other major-market teams in the free agent market.

San Francisco has been trying to land a star player for some time now. For various reasons, they have finished just short of completing the job time and again. So far, they have failed to sign a big star this offseason while the division-rival Dodgers landed the top two free agents on the market.

Shohei Ohtani was the first star to sign with L.A., but the Giants were perceived as an underdog in that pursuit all along. The Giants believed they had a real shot to sign pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto, only to watch him sign with L.A. as well.

After the Dodgers’ introductory press conference for Yamamoto on Wednesday, his agent, Joel Wolfe, poured gas onto the fire of the Giants coming close. He said that the Giants could have been Yamamoto’s choice if the Dodgers hadn’t been around.

“He thought that San Francisco really reminded him of Osaka and thought it was a beautiful city,” Wolfe said. “If the Dodgers had not been pursuing him, there was a good chance San Francisco could have been his destination.”

San Francisco will probably land a star player at some point, especially if they continue to throw money around. For now, the Dodgers’ front office will gladly watch a rival finish second on every top free agent.

The Dodgers’ payroll is set up extremely well for flexibility in the years to come. The core of Ohtani, Yamamoto, Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman is under contract long-term. The front office will continue adding around the margins of the roster, as well. With two new stars in the mix, L.A. is all-in on trying to win championships.

The fanbase has been waiting for this type of spending for years, and finally, it has come to fruition. With all of their resources at their disposal, the Dodgers are now the “villains” of baseball.

Photo Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports

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Matt Levine

Matt earned a Master of Science degree in Sport Management from Louisiana State University in 2021. He was born and raised in the Los Angeles area, growing up a huge fan of the Dodgers and Lakers. Matt Kemp was his favorite Dodgers player growing up.

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