For the past few weeks following Shohei Ohtani's decision to sign with the Los Angeles Dodgers, most of the attention in free agency shifted towards another Japanese international in Yoshinobu Yamamoto. Yamamoto, only 25, has displayed a near-unparalleled combination of elite play and elite consistency, making him quite the attractive target for teams looking for an infusion of talent atop the starting rotation.

As of late, plenty of teams were keeling head over heels in their pursuit of Yamamoto in free agency, with the biggest-market teams in the league such as the Dodgers, New York Yankees, and New York Mets, among other teams, all doing their best to convince the 25-year old to put his signature on the dotted line.

In the end, however, it seems as though Yoshinobu Yamamoto's mind was already made up in the first place; on Thursday night, after news of Yamamoto's decision to sign with the Dodgers broke, Bob Nightengale of USA Today pointed out that “Yamamoto told friends years ago how much he loved the Dodgers”. Of course, that ended up being prescient, with the talented starting pitcher taking his talents to LA on a huge free-agent deal.

From a player's perspective, there isn't too much reason not to like the Dodgers. They have been extremely consistent over the past decade, winning the NL West 10 times in the past 11 seasons, and they are one of, if not the most well-run organization in the MLB, not afraid to spend whatever it takes to remain competitive. Yoshinobu Yamamoto was in his formative baseball years when the Dodgers began their run of dominance, so it doesn't take a mad scientist to put two and two together.

It sure looks like the Dodgers will be reciprocal of Yamamoto's love for the franchise, especially when the team is in need of some pitching reinforcements after a tumultuous 2023 season on the mound. Joining Yamamoto in the rotation will be Walker Buehler, Bobby Miller, and the newly-acquired Tyler Glasnow, while Shohei Ohtani should eventually join this deep cast of arms.

The NL West might be the Dodgers' for the next 10 years as well, and all the doubters may as well accept that fact as soon as possible.