Steve Webb
LOS ANGELES, CA — There are some instances where a team and a player just make sense. Fernando Valenzuela and the Dodgers were a perfect example. Take a team with a large Hispanic fanbase and match them with a player from Mexico, and voila baseball magic. In fact, I would probably guess that Fernandomania wouldn’t have been a thing if Valenzuela had come up with, say, the Milwaukee Brewers, even if he’d put up similar numbers. It was the synergy between fans and player that made the phenomonon happen.
And fifteen years later, we saw it again with Hideo Nomo and his great rookie season. LA’s Asian fan base fell in love with the quirky delivery and stoic nature of Nomo and another Dodger legend was born. And now in 2024, the Dodgers have a chance to strike lightning a third time by signing one of three Japanese players to their roster: Shohei Ohtani, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, or Shota Imanaga. Let’s look at each and assess which would be the best fit for the Dodgers.
1. Shohei Ohtani
A ton of ink will be spilled this offseason on where Shohei Ohtani will land, so we don’t need to go into it too much here. The bloom came off the rose a bit when it was announced that Ohtani would be out as a pitcher for 2024 because of his elbow injury, but he’s still likely to command upwards of $500 million for his services. The numbers for the likely MVP of the American League speak for themselves. In 2023, despite missing a whole lot of games due to the injury, Ohtani put up video-game numbers at the plate: .304 average, 44 bombs, 1.066 OPS, 184 OP+. Simply ridiculous. And then, after a year, you get to slot him into the rotation.
There are risks with the Ohtani signing. With two significant injuries to his pitching arm in the space of his relatively short MLB career, there is a chance that you might be paying him $50 million dollars to rehab an injury for a year. And there is the question as to just how sustainable it is for Ohtani to continue to perform at an elite level at both positions. Still, the guy is only 29. He’ll probably give you 5+ solid years of superstar performance. And, it just might be the “sexy” signing to re-ignite this Dodger fan base, a portion of which analyst Ken Rosenthal recently described as “bored.” I’m not sure how “bored” we are, but after two massive October faceplants in a row, an Ohtani signing would get this fan’s motor revving for sure.
2. Yoshinobu Yamamoto
The Japan series just ended a couple of hours ago, but MLB teams are already salivating over the next high profile pitcher to come out of Japanese professional baseball. Yoshinobu Yamamoto has been dominant for the Orix Buffaloes this season, and has put together an incredible resume as he moves into his free agency. In seven seasons in NPB, this righty has posted a gaudy 1.82 ERA. and 0.92 WHIP in just under 1,000 innings pitched. He has already made five All-Star teams, tossed four no-hitters, won three Japanese Triple Crowns, two Sawamura Awards (NPB’s Cy Young), and two MVPs. And in a year that saw the Rangers ride a couple of hot starters to the World Series title, Yamamoto will be sure to get top dollar on the free agent market.
In a way, Yamamoto makes more immediate sense for the Dodgers, given their sorry state of starting pitching at the end of 2023. In his final start in Game 6 of the Japan Series, Yamamoto was nearly unhittable. He threw a gargantuan 138-pitch, 14-strikeout complete game, giving up only one run and keeping Orix in the series. That kind of performance will certainly raise some eyebrows stateside. Now of course, we have to mention that he got shelled in the start before it, and the win only extended the Buffaloes’ season by one game, as they lost on Sunday to the Hanshin Tigers, who rode a 4-RBI performance from former Dodger Sheldon Neuse to their first Japan Series victory since 1985.
My guess is that if the Dodgers go hard for Ohtani, they take a pass on Yamamoto, as he’s likely to command a big payday as well. However, having two young Asian superstars in the Dodgers lineup has to be appealing to anyone trying to extend the international brand of the ballclub. We’ll see on that one.
3. Shoto Imanaga
Imanaga represents a cheaper option for the Dodgers. A bit older than Yamamoto (he’s 30), Imanaga is a veteran of eight seasons of pro ball in Japan. During that time the lefty has accumulated some solid stats pitching for the Yokohama Bay Stars: 3.18 ERA, 1.12 WHIP, over 1,000 strikeouts. He pitched with Japan in their successful run at the WBC as well, where he posted a 3.00 ERA in three appearances. He’s not going to overpower anybody; his fastball is low to mid 90s, but he has a devastating changeup and will keep opposing hitters off-balance. I could see the Dodgers signing Imanaga and Ohtani together. He would give LA a decent arm on the left side, which they will be lacking it seems at the start of the year, given the recent news of Clayton Kershaw‘s surgery.
Conclusion
Obviously, Ohtani is the great white whale of the offseason, a once-in-a-lifetime talent who will surely sign the highest free agent deal in history. However, the Dodgers are far from the only team with the bank account capable of landing Ohtani. All the West Coast teams (including the hapless Angels) will be bidders on Ohtai’s services, and I wouldn’t be surprised if Steve Cohen writes a blank check to entice him to Queens. Still, the Vegas oddsmakers give the Dodgers an edge over the field as the possible next team for the superstar, gauging the probability at 25%. Those are pretty decent odds. But I would be surprised if the Dodgers didn’t have one of these three players on their roster next season. LA-area Japanese interpreters, get your resumes in order.
