OFFSEASON NEWS/RUMORS Thread

Dodgers meeting with Yamamoto amid Yankees, Mets, Red Sox Buzz
by Erin Walsh | Bleacher Report— 12 Dec 2023

The Los Angeles Dodgers don't appear to be done adding this winter after signing Shohei Ohtani to a record-setting 10-year, $700 million deal, and it looks like they have their sights set on another of baseball's top free agents.

L.A. is meeting with Japanese pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto on Tuesday, per Russell Dorsey of Bally Sports and Stadium.

Yamamoto is one of the best pitchers available this offseason and he's drawing interest from many of Major League Baseball's top contenders.

The 25-year-old has already met with the New York Yankees, New York Mets and San Francisco Giants, MLB.com's Mark Feinsand reported on Tuesday. Feinsand added that he is also scheduled to meet with the Boston Red Sox and is likely to meet with two-to-three more teams after that, including the Toronto Blue Jays.

Landing Yamamoto on top of Ohtani would be a game-changer for the Dodgers as he would join a rotation that includes Walker Buehler, Bobby Miller and Ryan Yarbrough in 2024.

L.A.'s rotation will get even stronger in 2025 as Ohtani will return to pitching after undergoing elbow surgery this offseason. Tony Gonsolin and Dustin May are also projected to return from Tommy John surgery in 2025.

Yamamoto has spent the last seven seasons playing for Nippon Professional Baseball's Orix Buffaloes in Japan. He went 17-6 in 2023 with a 1.16 ERA, 0.86 WHIP and 176 strikeouts in 171 innings across 24 games.

The Dodgers would be able to fit Yamamoto's salary into the lineup as Ohtani deferred the majority of his annual salary until the conclusion of his contract with the team. Ohtani will earn roughly $2 million per year over his 10-year contract, with the deferred money paid to him between 2034 through 2043.

In addition to Yamamoto, the Dodgers are also targeting closer Josh Hader, according to Sports Illustrated's Tom Verducci.

After being eliminated in the National League Division Series in each of the last two seasons, L.A.'s aggressive approach this winter could pay dividends for the franchise for the foreseeable future as the Dodgers aim to bring many more titles to the city.

 

saw that too
pretty fucken impressive

 

little sad we’re supposedly parting w/pepiot
but you have to give them something

 

as of 5 minutes ago…
really hoping the “deal not done” part is friedman trying to get tampa to include arozarena instead of margot

Ken Rosenthal@Ken_Rosenthal
The Dodgers are discussing a trade in which they would get RHP Tyler Glasnow and OF Manuel Margot from the Rays for RHP Ryan Pepiot and OF Jonny Deluca, sources tell @TheAthletic. Deal not complete. Changes possible. Financial exchange likely. On it: @Bnicklaus7, @AzoulayHaron
6:17 AM · Dec 13, 2023 · 42K Views​

 

Call me greedy but man would I love to trade for Randy Arozarena.

 

some rumblings on twitter that arozarena is the reason the deal hasn’t been finalized yet

 

You could've had me but...


Post 2019 TB would never say "UGH" about bad news regarding the Dodgers....

 

Sources: Mookie Betts, Will Smith, Freddie Freeman and Shohei Ohtani were part of the Dodgers’ meeting with Yoshinobu Yamamoto and his representatives yesterday. @FabianArdaya and @Ken_Rosenthal were on it first.
— Russell Dorsey (@Russ_Dorsey1) December 13, 2023