The magical offseason of the Los Angeles Dodgers continues. So, too, does the Red Sox’s search for quality starting pitching.
The Dodgers, who almost two weeks ago signed Shohei Ohtani to the largest contract in baseball history ($700 million), added to their incredible winter haul late Thursday night, agreeing to a contract with pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto worth $325 million over 12 years, according to several reports. Unlike with Ohtani, there are no deferrals in Yamamoto’s deal.
The Dodgers will also have to pay Yamamoto’s former team a posting fee that will total tens of millions.
Jack Curry of The YES Network was the first to report the news of Yamamoto choosing the Dodgers. Curry reported that the Yankees were informed by Yamamoto’s representatives that the pitcher had agreed to a deal with the Dodgers. The Yankees and Dodgers were apparently the two finalists, with the Mets also in the running. Both the Yankees and Mets were said to have offered $300 million or more for the pitcher.
The Dodgers, who won 100 games last season only to be eliminated in the Division Series, have now spent more than $1 billion on two players this offseason, both of them from Japan, in their effort to win a World Series. The Dodgers have won just one World Series since 1988, and that came during the pandemic-shortened season of 2020.
The Red Sox had been among a handful of teams to meet with Yamamoto, 25, in the last week or so, and presented an offer. The Sox, however, were considered distinct longshots to land the pitcher who had won the last three Sawamura Awards, given annually to the best pitcher in NPB (Nippon Professional Baseball). Other interested teams included the San Francisco Giants and Philadelphia Phillies.
Yamamoto was one of the few free agent pitchers available who would have given the Red Sox a true front-of-the-rotation ace. Even without having thrown a pitch in MLB, evaluators don’t doubt his ability to dominate hitters in North America the way he did in his native Japan.
Of the remaining unsigned free agents, Blake Snell is the lone No. 1 option, but there’s little evidence to suggest that the Red Sox are in pursuit of the lefty, who has won Cy Young Awards in both leagues. Snell also comes with compensation attached after the San Diego Padres gave him a qualifying offer, and the Red Sox reportedly want to avoid signing a free agent who will also cost them a draft pick. In addition, Snell, a native of Seattle, is said to prefer pitching for a team on the West Coast.
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There are other free agent pitchers still available, including lefty Jordan Montgomery. Montgomery has no compensation attached and his wife, a dermatologist, is serving her residency with a Boston-area hospital, creating a connection to Boston. The Texas Rangers, who traded for Montgomery at last August’s deadline, remain interested in retaining him. The Yankees, for whom Montgomery once pitched, may also have an interest, especially after losing out on Yamamoto.
If the Red Sox can’t find a free agent to bolster their rotation, they can examine the trade market. A number of pitchers nearing free agency — including Milwaukee’s Corbin Burnes, Chicago’s Dylan Cease and Cleveland’s Shane Bieber — have drawn interest and now that Yamamoto is off the market, it’s expected that the trade market will intensify.
Earlier this offseason, a report in the Boston Globe suggested that the Sox were not interested in dealing for “rentals” — players who are nearing free agency — out of fear that, after giving up prospects to acquire a veteran pitcher, they could soon lose him to free agency.
But somehow, someway, the Red Sox need improvement if they’re to compete in the 2024 season. Their rotation ranked 22nd among all MLB teams in 2023. Worse, they were 27th in innings pitched, placing too large a burden on their bullpen.
