MLB Insider reveals Dodgers are still under final luxury tax threshold and potentially 'favorites' to land Yoshinobu Yamamoto
MLB Insider Ken Rosenthal revealed on Friday's episode of popular baseball show "Foul Territory" that the Los Angeles Dodgers are still well below the luxury tax threshold for the next season. Despite having signed the biggest contract in MLB history to land superstar Shohei Ohtani, the LA front office has done a great job of breaking down their payments so that they can spend more this offseason. As a result, they remain among the favorites to sign highly-coveted Japanese ace Yoshinobu Yamamoto before the end of the year.
Yoshinobu Yamamoto is the latest attraction that has landed on the shores of the US from Japan as an international free agent in the MLB market. The Nippon Professional Baseball League of Japan has been one of the regular pipelines for new talent in the MLB, the perfect example being the arrival of Ohtani in 2018. This year, the most coveted player to come out of Japan in Yamamoto and the Dodgers have already shown their interest.
While both the New York Yankees and the New York Mets have put their hats in the ring to sign the young starting pitcher, the Dodgers also remain in the running despite their lavish spending this year. This is because they have been clever in breaking down big contracts, deferring the payments to the future so that they stay below the luxury tax threshold for this year. Hence, MLB Insider Ken Rosenthal believes they could well land Yamamoto despite competition from the New York teams.
"They're gonna keep going. They are in position, at least in terms of the luxury tax threshold, to keep going," said Rosenthal.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts admits using Shohei Ohtani as leverage in pursuit of Yoshinobu Yamamoto
After successfully signing Shohei Ohtani, the Los Angeles Dodgers have made it clear that their next priority is to land starting pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto. In order to do that, they are using Ohtani's signing in more ways than one.
Firstly, Ohtani's deferred salary payments make it possible for the LA side to remain well below the luxury tax threshold and spend money on other players. Second, Yamamoto has expressed his desire to play with a Japanese teammate in the MLB, and who better than the best Japanese player in the world? Moreover, the two players already have a relationship from their time playing for Team Japan in the World Baseball Classic earlier this year.