The Los Angeles Dodgers have gone on a billion-dollar spending spree.
Los Angeles continued to own the MLB offseason on Thursday night, reportedly striking a 12-year, $325 million deal with Japanese star pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto. It’s the largest contract in terms of total money ever given to a pitcher.
The pact came less than two weeks after the Dodgers lured fellow Japanese sensation Shohei Ohtani away from the Los Angeles Angels with a record-smashing 10-year, $700 million contract (with $680 million in deferred money). Ohtani and Yamamoto, who together won the 2023 World Baseball Classic title with Team Japan, were regarded as the top two players in free agency.
And in between landing the two Japanese stars, Los Angeles acquired ace Tyler Glasnow from the Tampa Bay Rays and gave him a five-year, $135 million extension.
So since Dec. 9, the Dodgers have spent more than $1.1 billion to add Ohtani, Glasnow and Yamamoto to their already star-studded club.
Yes, Los Angeles is coming off yet another disappointing playoff exit, being swept by the eventual NL champion Arizona Diamondbacks in the NLDS. But the Dodgers can now roll out a lineup featuring Ohtani, Mookie Betts, Freddie Freeman, Will Smith and Max Muncy, along with a starting rotation headlined by Yamamoto, Glasnow and Walker Buehler (with Ohtani slated to return to the mound in 2025).
That’s quite the club on paper.
Los Angeles’ latest big-time splash sparked many different reactions on social media: