In the wake of Shohei Ohtani signing with the Los Angeles Dodgers, most teams that missed out on Ohtani shifted their attention to signing his fellow Japanese superstar, Yoshinobu Yamamoto — which turned out to be futile, as the Dodgers also landed Yamamoto.
Hindsight says we should have known the Dodgers were Yamamoto's most likely destination all along, especially after they'd signed Ohtani. Rumors were that Yamamoto preferred to join a MLB team that already had a Japanese player. Yet, when the Dodgers introduced their newest superstar signing on Wednesday, Yamamoto revealed how Ohtani wasn't as crucial to him joining LA as previously believed.
"I wouldn't say he was the sole reason in deciding to come here, and if he went somewhere else, I probably would have still ended up in L.A," Yamamoto said through his interpreter. "Winning now and winning into the future was probably the most important thing in making this decision."
There we have it: Ohtani's presence wasn't a major factor in Yamamoto's decision — at least, aside from how having Ohtani as a teammate impacts winning (which is, obviously, a lot).
Then again, Ohtani's choice to defer $68 million of his annual $70 million salary in order for the Dodgers to sign more top-tier talent (such as Yamamoto) is a move that certainly increases the Dodgers' chances of winning, both now and in the future. That's something that Yamamoto also alluded to during Wednesday's news conference.
"Through my talks with the [Dodgers] front office, it was really clear that they wanted to win," Yamamoto said. "On top of that, the fact that Shohei was doing that also signaled that it wasn't just the front office, it was also the players that bought into this winning atmosphere. That really resonated with me."
So, in that way, Ohtani's decision did have a big impact on Yamamoto — just not in the way most of us had imagined.
What's certain is that the Dodgers now have more than enough firepower to not just win a World Series in 2024 but also to produce multiple championships in the coming years.
Yet, World Series rings aren't won on paper. The Dodgers also had the MLB's most talented team last year — and lost to a (seemingly) inferior Diamondbacks roster in the NLDS. So while LA seems well suited for success, only time will tell whether that will actually translate into championships.
