Shohei Ohtani is not the only Japanese commanding attention from the Los Angeles Dodgers and basically every team in the MLB amid the offseason. There is also Yoshinobu Yamamoto of the Orix Buffaloes, who has already been given permission by the Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) club to try his luck in the big leagues via the player posting system.
There is still a lot of unknown about Yamamoto's future in the MLB, but the odds already have the Dodgers as the favorites to land the pitcher. Over at BetOnline sportsbook, the Dodgers have odds of +400 to acquire the services of Yamamoto.
Dodgers lead the pack in Yoshinobu Yamamoto odds
The New York Yankees, another perennial free agency big player, are right behind Los Angeles with odds of +500. The New York Mets, meanwhile, are labeled with +600 odds to win the Yamamoto sweepstakes. Teams within the +800 to +1400 odds range are the Chicago Cubs, Boston Red Sox, Philadelphia Phillies, San Francisco Giants, St. Louis Cardinals, Arizona Diamondbacks, and Texas Rangers.
Needless to say, there will be several teams who will vie for Yamamoto's signature ahead of the 2024 MLB season.
The 25-year-old Yamamoto went 16-6 in 23 games with a 1.21 ERA for the Buffaloes in the recently concluded season in which Orix fell short of winning the league title after losing Game 7 of the Japan Series to the Hanshin Tigers.
“I'd like to thank my team for accepting my request,” Yamamoto said about the Buffaloes allowing him to chase his MLB dream after the loss to the Tigers, per the Associated Press (h/t ESPN)
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