Rams Invite New Dodgers Star Yoshinobu Yamamoto to SoFi Stadium
Fresh off of signing a 10-year/$700 million free-agent deal with the Los Angeles Dodgers, two-time American League MVP Shohei Ohtani attended the Rams huge win over the New Orleans Saints at SoFi Stadium Thursday.
After the victory, Ohtani even met quarterback Matthew Stafford and coach Sean McVay in the postgame locker room celebration.
There was some buzz on social media Thursday afternoon that Ohtani might be joined by fellow Japanese superstar Yoshinobu Yamamoto at the game.
That didn't prove to be true, but by the end of the night, Yamamoto had agreed to a 12-year/$325 million deal to join Ohtani on the Dodgers.
And whether they thought he might attend Thursday's game or pay a visit to SoFi Stadium in the future, the Rams already had a custom jersey created for Yamamoto.
Yamamoto -- a 25-year-old right-handed pitcher -- is coming over to MLB for the first time after seven seasons with the Orix Buffaloes in Japan's top baseball league, Nippon Professional Baseball. He went 17-6 with a minuscule 1.42 ERA in 24 starts for the Buffaloes last season.
Yamamoto was considered the second-best free agent available this offseason, behind only Ohtani.
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Ohtani, of course, is already one of the greatest players in MLB history, having mastered the sport both as a left-handed slugger and flame-throwing righty pitcher.
He won't pitch for the Dodgers in 2024 as he recovers from Tommy John surgery, but Ohtani homered 44 times and drove in 95 runs in just 135 games for the Angels this past season, so his bat alone will be worth the price of admission.
He's joining a lineup that already included two future Hall of Famers in Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman.
In addition to Ohtani and Yamamoto, the Dodgers also acquired the immensely-talented-but-oft-injured Tyler Glasnow in a trade from the Tampa Bay Rays. Glasnow -- who had a 3.53 ERA in 21 starts this past season -- agreed to a five-year/$136.6 million deal with the Dodgers on his way in the door.
Mind you, the Dodgers went 100-62 last season, so it's not as though this trio of stars was joining a rebuilding team. It would be fair to say that 2024 will be the most-anticipated season in the illustrious history of the Dodgers franchise.
