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While signing Shohei Ohtani is certainly a great move for the Los Angeles Dodgers, it might have hurt their chances of trying to land Yoshinobu Yamamoto.
Per Jon Heyman of the New York Post and MLB Network, one executive on a rival team speculated that Yamamoto “doesn’t want to be in Ohtani’s shadow.”
It’s worth pointing out that Heyman described the executive’s words as a guess and speculation. If the person who said it works for a team that’s interested in Yamamoto, they could be inclined to put down the Dodgers.
Of course, the Dodgers may have tipped their hand about how they feel regarding the Yamamoto talks with their move to acquire Tyler Glasnow.
Per ESPN’s Jeff Passan, the Dodgers agreed to a five-year, $135 million extension with Glasnow on Friday that will facilitate their trade with the Tampa Bay Rays for the 30-year-old right-hander.
Teams have been making their pitch to Yamamoto since he was posted by the Orix Buffaloes on Nov. 20. The Dodgers had Ohtani, Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman at their presentation to the 25-year-old.
The New York Yankees’ contingent included managing general partner Hal Steinbrenner, general manager Brian Cashman and manager Aaron Boone when they met with Yamamoto on Monday.
Heyman noted the Yankees came out of that meeting feeling “very good” about their chances, but he also ranked them as co-favorites to sign Yamamoto with the Dodgers.
Yamamoto has until Jan. 4 to decide which MLB team he wants to play for. Otherwise, he will return to NPB for the 2024 season.
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