Yoshinobu Yamamoto Would’ve Joined Dodgers With or Without Shohei Ohtani
The Los Angeles Dodgers landed the two brightest stars in free agency earlier this off-season, signing Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto. But it doesn’t appear the Japanese duo was a package deal.
Reuniting with his fellow countryman and former World Baseball Classic teammate is undeniably a special honour, although it wasn’t the driving force behind Yamamoto’s decision to join the Dodgers. Instead, it was the franchise’s commitment to making repeated runs at a World Series title.
“I wouldn’t say he was the sole reason in deciding to come here, and if he went somewhere else, I probably would have still ended up in L.A,” Yamamoto said via his interpreter in Wednesday’s introductory news conference. “Winning now and winning into the future was probably the most important thing in making this decision.”
Yamamoto’s 12-year, $325-million contract was made official by the team ahead of Wednesday’s press conference at Dodger Stadium. With it, the deal became the richest signed by a pitcher in the sport’s history, surpassing Gerrit Cole by $1 million in guaranteed salary.
The 25-year-old righty donned the classic white and blue Dodgers uniform as the club introduced their newest starting pitcher to media members. He intends to wear No. 18 – the same number he wore during his seven seasons with the Orix Buffaloes of the Nippon Professional Baseball.
That’s also the same number that Kenta Maeda sported during his four seasons with the Dodgers from 2016-19. While he’s no longer with the organization, Yamamoto was inspired by the 35-year-old when he attended one of his appearances in the 2018 postseason.
“I wouldn’t say that was the sole reason for choosing the Dodgers, but when I was 19, I did come to watch a playoff game here, and in that game Kenta Maeda did throw and it made me feel more strongly about coming overseas to play in the big leagues,” Yamamoto said.
Another factor that heavily impacted Yamamoto’s decision was the Dodgers’ plan to remain competitive over the next decade, as they’ve further complemented a roster that already included All-Stars like Mookie Betts, Freddie Freeman, Will Smith and Walker Buehler, among others.
But above all else, Ohtani’s strategy to defer $680 of the $700 million megadeal to allow management to pursue other marquee players, particularly Yamamoto, proved to be the kicker. It was another example of the players, not just the front office, being all-in on constructing a championship-calibre product.
“Through my talks with the front office, it was really clear that they wanted to win,” Yamamoto said. “On top of that, the fact that Shohei was doing that also signalled that it wasn’t just the front office, it was also the players that bought into this winning atmosphere. That really resonated with me.”
Though Yamamoto believes he would’ve still signed with Los Angeles even if Ohtani landed elsewhere, he’s looking forward to spending this next chapter of his career alongside someone with whom he already shares a rich history.
“He said, ‘Ask me anything you ever need,'” Yamamoto said, referring to Ohtani. “So it really felt comfortable talking to him about it. To be able to play with him from here on out definitely means a lot.”
Yamamoto will likely emerge as the new ace of the Dodgers’ pitching staff in 2024, supported by the talented duo of Tyler Glasnow – acquired from the Tampa Bay Rays earlier this month – and Buehler. Ohtani is expected to join that trio once he returns to the mound in 2025.
The undersized 5-foot-10 hurler comes with quite a dazzling resume, which includes three consecutive pitching Triple Crowns (leading in wins, strikeouts and ERA), Eiji Sawamura Awards (Japan’s Cy Young) and Pacific League MVP Awards from 2021-23. He’s also a five-time NPB All-Star.
Last season, Yamamoto flourished with a 1.21 ERA across 23 starts with the Buffaloes, tossing a pair of complete-game shutouts. On top of that, he fanned 169 batters across 164.0 innings, posting a 26.6% strikeout rate.
NPB fans will forever cherish his final start in Game 6 of the Japan Series, where he led his team to a pivotal victory while punching out 14 batters over all nine innings on 138 pitches.
-Thomas Hall
Twitter: @ThomasHall85
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