Ohtani, Freeman, Betts Meet With Dodgers' Free Agent Target

Imagine having three MVP winners trying to woo you to their team... Makes it kind of hard to say no, doesn't it? That's the spot that this year's top free agent pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto found himself in this week as he met with the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Shohei Ohtani, Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman all attended yesterday’s Dodgers meeting with Yoshinobu Yamamoto, per @FabianArdaya pic.twitter.com/9z4yWbZp0S
— Talkin’ Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) December 13, 2023

Sources say that Shohei Ohtani, Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman all attended Tuesday’s Dodgers meeting with Yamamoto in an attempt to convince him to come to LA.

It sounds like a Hollywood movie, and it just might work. With the Dodgers only committed to paying Ohtani $2M a season for the next years, when the balance of $700M comes into effect, they've got plenty of cash reserves to offer his fellow Japanese star Yamamoto the expected $200M to $300M it's going to take to sign him.

The 25-year-old has simply dominated in Japan in his seven seasons in the NPB, compiling a 70-29 record with a 1.82 ERA, 0.93 WHIP, and three MVP awards.

Other teams expected to be in the chase include the New York Mets and Yankees, so perhaps it's time for Kodai Senga and the retired Hideki Matsui to start recruiting for the Big Apple teams, respectively. If the Chicago Cubs, Boston Red Sox and Toronto Blue Jays are still in the mix, perhaps they can bring out Seiya Suzuki, Masataka Yoshida and Yusei Kikuchi. Not quite the same impact, however, as Ohtani (and Freeman and Betts).

Photo: Stephen Brashear-USA TODAY Sports