The Dodgers landed two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani on a record 10-year, $700 million contract, but they aren’t done yet. Now they have their sights set on addressing their pitching staff, which has been their priority all offseason.
Their big target is Japanese pitching sensation Yoshinobu Yamamoto, who would be an absolute game-changer for the Dodgers starting rotation. He is special on the mound and would give them another front-line ace alongside Tyler Glasnow.
And it seems that the newest member of the Dodgers is recruiting him to join the team. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said on the Dan Patrick Show on Friday that Ohtani is “absolutely” recruiting Yamamoto to come to Los Angeles.
“Absolutely we’re doing that. We’d be crazy not to.”
Per Dave Roberts via The Dan Patrick Show
It’s been reported that the Dodgers pulled out all the stops for their meeting with Yamamoto earlier in the week. This included having multiple players, including Ohtani, attend the pitch to get him into a Dodgers uniform.
Yamamoto and Ohtani were teammates on Team Japan for the World Baseball Classic, and they know each other very well. It’s also been reported previously that Yamamoto would love to play alongside another Japanese star.
“They were teammates. So I do know that Yoshinobu is excited being recruited,” Roberts said. “We hosted him, and I thought we did a really good job and had players there to kind of see what life would look like.”
Per Dave Roberts via The Dan Patrick Show
Roberts’ saying that he believes the team did a good job is similar to his sentiment before they landed Ohtani. We can all hope that the same result takes place, and Yamamoto decides to become a member of the Dodgers.
“So, yeah, they do have a good relationship,” Roberts said of Ohtani and Yamamoto. “So hopefully everything lines up and it would be quite the offseason.”
Per Dave Roberts via The Dan Patrick Show
If the Dodgers are able to land Yamamoto, it would be an incredibly successful offseason. They’ve already got Ohtani and have traded for starter Tyler Glasnow, so this would be the cherry on top. Hopefully, when the dust settles, Yamamoto will be wearing a Dodgers jersey for the foreseeable future.
Photo Credit: Yukihito Taguchi-USA TODAY Sports
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