Shohei Ohtani, Mookie Betts Help Los Angeles Dodgers Make Pitch to Yoshinobu Yamamoto

The Los Angeles Dodgers appear to be pulling out all the stops in their pursuit of Japanese pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto.

According to a report from The Athletic's Fabian Ardaya and Ken Rosenthal, starting pitcher/designated hitter Shohei Ohtani, second baseman/outfielder Mookie Betts and first baseman Freddie Freeman were all in attendance for their club's meeting with Yamamoto at Dodger Stadium on Tuesday. Catcher Will Smith was also part of the welcome wagon, per Stadium's Russell Dorsey.

Ohtani and Yamamoto played together on Team Japan in the World Baseball Classic. Betts is a player Yamamoto supposedly admires.

The Dodgers are fresh off handing Ohtani the largest contract in sports history last weekend, poaching the two-way superstar from the Los Angeles Angels with a 10-year, $700 million megadeal. They now have a superstar trio locked in after acquiring Betts in a trade with the Boston Red Sox in 2020 and luring Freeman away from the Atlanta Braves in 2022.

Their interest in Yamamoto, another highly-coveted Japanese free agent, shows that the Dodgers aren't done spending money just yet, either. Yamamoto is widely expected to fetch a $300 million contract out on the open market.

Yamamoto also met with the New York Yankees, New York Mets, San Francisco Giants and Red Sox, although none of those teams were able to trot out three active MVPs in their pitch to the 25-year-old right-hander. The Toronto Blue Jays are reportedly "likely" to meet with Yamamoto soon, per Ardaya.

Yamamoto is the three-time reigning Pacific League MVP and Eiji Sawamura Award winner, which is given to the top pitcher in Nippon Professional Baseball. He has also won three Gold Gloves, four ERA titles, four strikeout titles and a Japanese Series.

The five-time All-Star has thrown two no-hitters in his professional career.

Yamamoto went 17-6 with a 1.16 ERA, 0.860 WHIP and 9.3 strikeouts per nine innings with the Orix Buffaloes in 2023. Since making his NPB debut in 2017, he is 75-30 with a 1.72 ERA, 0.915 WHIP and 9.2 strikeouts per nine innings.

On top of the Ohtani contract and their star-studded meeting with Yamamoto, there have also been rumors that the Dodgers are on the verge of trading for Tampa Bay Rays pitcher Tyler Glasnow and either outfielder Manuel Margot or Randy Arozarena. Sports Illustrated's Tom Verducci has reported that Los Angeles is interested in All-Star closer Josh Hader as well.

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