The Los Angeles Dodgers won the MLB offseason with the free agent signings of Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto. While Ohtani gets most of the headlines, and rightfully so, it's Yamamoto who will be the most intriguing player to watch on the Dodgers this season.
The Dodgers handed Yamamoto the largest contract to a pitcher in MLB history before he ever stepped foot on an MLB mound. They could make another bold move with Yamamoto's MLB debut, as Dylan Hernandez reports that the Dodgers are planning to start their $325 million man during their two-game series in South Korea against the San Diego Padres to open the season.
That series takes place on March 20 and 21, a week before MLB's official Opening Day on March 28. There is a possibility that Yamamoto makes two starts before a trio of Dodgers pitchers make their season debuts. It shouldn’t come as a surprise considering how talented and hyped up the Japanese star is.
MLB teams don’t just hand massive contracts and huge honors to players who haven’t played a single inning in the league. Yamamoto is special, but with those sorts of accolades comes plenty of pressure to perform. There will not only be pressure on Yamamoto throughout the season but for the Dodgers as a whole.
LA enters the 2024 campaign as favorites to win the World Series, something that is not unfamiliar territory to the Dodgers. Each season that passes without a championship mounts the pressure even more and the Dodgers will roll out perhaps their most talented team ever this season.
You can’t win a World Series during the regular season, but you can certainly lose a shot at it during the MLB's grueling 162-game calendar. A hot start for Yoshinobu Yamamoto could pay huge dividends for his and the Dodgers' season.
An MLB debut in Asia for the most highly-touted Japanese pitcher ever would be fantastic for the sport of baseball and it appears the Dodgers are ready to make that happen.
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