MLB Rumors: Dodgers flaunt superteam, including Ohtani, in meeting with Yoshinobu Yamamoto

If you have followed MLB in recent years, one given every offseason is the Los Angeles Dodgers landing one of the top free agents available. This year, however, the team made a historic splash by signing Angels two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani to a 10-year, $700 million contract. A later report confirmed that Ohtani had deferred $680 million of his total salary until after the 2033 season. This is what Ohtani wanted, as it would help whichever team he signed with compete for a World Series title.

This kept the Dodgers in the running for Japanese star pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto, who is a free agent of interest for multiple teams and could command a deal worth nearly $300 million. Yamamoto is scheduled to meet with teams of interest this week before making a decision. It just so happens the Dodgers pulled out all the stops for their meeting with Yamamoto.

According to The Athletic's Fabian Ardaya and Ken Rosenthal, the Dodgers had Ohtani, Mookie Betts, Freddie Freeman, and catcher Will Smith on hand for the team's meeting with Yamamoto to help with their pitch.

Shohei Ohtani, Mookie Betts, and Freddie Freeman meet with Yoshinobu Yamamoto as part of Dodgers pitch

That's a lot of star power in one room to help convince arguably the best free agent remaining.

Yamamoto spent the start of his career in Nippon Professional Baseball's Pacific League with the Orix Buffaloes. The right-handed pitcher won the Pacific League MVP award and the Triple Crown (ERA, wins, and strikeouts) in each of the previous three seasons.

In his seven years with NPB, Yamamoto recorded a 1.82 ERA, a 0.935 WHIP, a 70-29 win-loss record, 922 strikeouts, and 206 walks in 897 innings (172 games).

As of this writing, Yamamoto has met with the New York Yankees and San Francisco Giants in the United States. Mets owner Steve Cohen flew out to Japan before Yamamoto arrived in the United States to meet with the star pitcher. Other teams linked to Yamamoto include the Boston Red Sox and Toronto Blue Jays.

The Dodgers are using their star power to convince Yamamoto to further bolster their superteam heading into 2024 and beyond.