Yoshinobu Yamamoto Rumors: Japanese Pitching Sensation Officially Posted

Dodgers free agent pitching target Yoshinobu Yamamoto has officially been posted, and teams will be able to start negotiating with him starting on November 21 at 5 a.m. PT. Teams will have until January 4 at 2 p.m. PT to strike a deal otherwise he will head back to Japan.

With the hard deadline for Yamamoto, we could see his market develop rather quickly. The Dodgers have a major interest in landing him, but they will have to be aggressive in doing so.

Yoshinobu is expected to command a strong market from MLB teams, and LA can’t sit on their hands to allow the market to come to them. He reportedly has a preference for playing on the West Coast, and that could end up helping LA in their pursuit.

They will have strong competition from both New York teams and the rival San Francisco Giants among others. But the Dodgers are committed to upgrading their starting rotation heavily this offseason, and signing Yamamoto could be the big move for them.

He is seen as the best pitcher to come from Japan, and he has electric stuff on the mound. Yamamoto is seen as a front-line starter, which is something that the Dodgers are intent on landing this offseason.

The Japanese pitching sensation is also just 25 years old, so there is plenty of time for him to grow his game. If the Dodgers can land him, it would signal a clear motive to make good on their promise to improve the rotation this winter.

They were embarrassed in the postseason by multiple division rivals in each of the last two seasons, so the front office wants to make sure that it doesn’t happen again. Yamamoto could give them an ace-level starter for years to come, and hopefully, he lands with LA when the dust settles.

Photo Credit: Yukihito Taguchi-USA TODAY Sports

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