Yoshinobu Yamamoto Still Very Much in Play For Dodgers: Reports

The top priority remaining for the Dodgers this off-season is landing quality starting pitching to bolster their rotation. The starters fizzled out in their only three postseason games in October, and the front office wants to make sure history doesn’t repeat itself next year.

The Dodgers have been linked with the majority of the top-tier free agent starters, including Japanese sensation Yoshinobu Yamamoto. Yamamoto would give the team a front-line starter to build around, but the cost to land him could exceed what the Dodgers are willing to pay.

Several national reporters, including Jeff Passan of ESPN, are doubling down on the idea of the Dodgers adding Yamamoto this off-season, even after the team signed Shohei Ohtani.

“So, yes, the Dodgers certainly will be in the bidding for Japanese right-hander Yoshinobu Yamamoto, whose suitors include the New York Mets, New York Yankees, Boston Red Sox, Chicago Cubs, San Francisco Giants and even the Blue Jays, who would hate to be spurned twice. Adding him and Ohtani isn’t out of the question. By Game 1 of the 2024 season, which sees the Dodgers take on the San Diego Padres in Seoul, South Korea, Yamamoto could be the starting pitcher, with Ohtani hitting behind Betts and Freeman. It would be must-watch TV, whether in the United States or abroad.”

Per Jeff Passan of ESPN

The Dodgers signed Ohtani to a record-setting contract worth $700 million over the weekend, and it remains to be seen if the front office is willing to shell out another large contract. Yamamoto is coveted by every major big-market team, including the Dodgers.

Yamamoto, 25, has electric stuff. Industry scouts place him on a short list with the best pitchers ever to come out of Japan. He would be an absolute game-changer for the Dodgers, and this isn’t the first time L.A. has been linked to both Ohtani and Yamamoto.

However the front office plans to go about it, they figure to need at least two established starters to complement Walker Buehler, Bobby Miller, Ryan Pepiot and Emmet Sheehan on their depth chart.

Now, with Ohtani’s contract all but official, the Dodgers are poised to go all-in on their 2024 roster.

Photo Credit: Yukihito Taguchi-USA TODAY Sports

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