Report: Ohtani helping Dodgers recruit Giants target Yamamoto

The original version of the story, “Ohtani helping Dodgers recruit Giants target Yamamoto,” aired on NBC Sports Bay Area.

After undergoing elbow surgery in September of last year, Shohei Ohtani has not yet on the mound for the Los Angeles Dodgers and won’t for some time, but he is already contributing to the team’s pitching staff.

Pitching for recruitment, that is.

Freddie Freeman, Mookie Betts, and other players joined the two-way phenomenon during the Dodgers’

Tuesday presentation to Yoshinobu Yamamoto, according to reports from

Ken Rosenthal and Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic.

By delaying nearly all of the money in his historic 10-year, $700 million contract to 2034, Ohtani has already done the

Dodgers a favor. It was intended to assist the Dodgers in attracting additional

talent, and it seems Ohtani is making quick work of it.

Since Ohtani is now a Dodger, Yamamoto is the most sought-after free agent available. The right-hander, 25, has been a member of Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball team since 2017. He was a member of Ohtani’s winning team at Japan’s 2023 World Baseball Classic.

Thanks to Ohtani’s contract deferral, the Dodgers still have money to spend, but they may need all the assistance they can get in luring Yamamoto. Yamamoto reportedly spoke with the Giants, their NL West rivals, on Sunday while he was making the rounds of free agents. The Boston Red Sox, Toronto Blue Jays, New York Yankees, and New York Mets are among the teams interested in signing him, according to Ardaya and Rosenthal.

According to Ardaya and Rosenthal’s account, Yamamoto was welcomed at

Dodger Stadium with multimedia displays of his name and likeness in the

team’s uniform. Ohtani’s influence may or may not bring that vision to pass.