After Shohei Ohtani signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers in the least shocking move of the offseason, all eyes have turned to the remaining free agents. There are some solid names like Cody Bellinger, Blake Snell, and Josh Hader, but one stands above the rest. It's someone who has never even played in MLB before, Japanese pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto.
Much like Ohtani, Yamamoto is a standout Japanese pitcher who is turning to MLB in 2024. He's not your average, ordinary, everyday pitcher though. He's arguably the best Japanese pitching prospect of all-time. In 2023, his ERA was a 1.16. He struck out 9.3 batters for every nine innings he pitched. He struck out six times more batters than he walked too. For perspective, only three pitchers in MLB posted better strikeout-to-walk ratios than Yamamoto's 6.29: Spencer Strider (9.1), Zach Eflin (7.3), and Logan Webb (6.3).
Yamamoto has posted a sub-2.00 ERA in four of his last five seasons in Japan. In fact, his career-high ERA is 2.35. As great a prospect as Ohtani was, Ohtani had just one season with an ERA under 2.
There is clearly a lot to like about Yamamoto. He's highly-coveted for a reason. Here is the latest news surrounding the free agent pitcher.
HOT STOVE UPDATES: MLB free agency: Ranking and tracking the top players available.
Yamamoto recently met with the New York Yankees.
The Yankees are not far removed from trading for three-time All-Star Juan Soto. The addition of Yamamoto would create a formidable 1-2 punch atop the rotation with reigning AL Cy Young winner Gerrit Cole.
Despite spending $700 million on Shohei Ohtani already, the Dodgers are in the running for Yamamoto. It would make for a great offseason in Los Angeles if the Dodgers could land both players.
Any team with decent money should be in on Yamamoto, but as it stands right now, the teams most heavily linked to Yamamoto include the Los Angeles Dodgers, New York Yankees, Boston Red Sox, San Francisco Giants, and New York Mets among them.
Shohei Ohtani sweepstakes:Shohei Ohtani free agency hysteria brought out the worst in MLB media. We can do better.