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Yoshinobu Yamamoto dines with top Japanese free agent Munetaka Murakami as Dodgers fears grow
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- Yoshinobu Yamamoto dines with top Japanese free agent Munetaka Murakami as Dodgers fears grow
Dodgers free agent
The Dodgers may be at it again.
Fresh off a second straight World Series and two consecutive offseasons in which they signed the biggest Japanese free agent, star pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto grabbed dinner with top Japanese free agent Munetaka Murakami, as captured in a photo by Kenshiro Saito .
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Now, of course, this dinner may be nothing more than just two friends catching up.
However, the Dodgers have become the Yankees of the 1990s and early 2000s in free agency, signing premier player after premier player no matter the shocking cost.
And they have particularly excelled in the international market.
The Dodgers signed Yamamoto to a pitcher-record $325 million contract before the 2024 season and also inked two-way phenom Shohei Ohtani to a then-North-America record $700 million deal — $680 million of which is deferred — that Juan Soto later topped with the Mets .
Those two have played large roles in the Dodgers winning the last two championships, topping the Yankees in five games in 2024 and downing the Blue Jays in a seven-game classic this season.
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This past offseason, Los Angeles struck again by acquiring young fireballer Roki Sasaki .
While Yamamoto and Ohtani signed normal free-agent deals, Sasaki signed an international free-agency deal including a $6.5 million signing bonus.
He struggled in the regular season, posting a 4.46 ERA while missing time due to injury, but then became a dominant reliever in the postseason, tallying a 0.84 ERA and notching three saves.
It's possible the Dodgers could be in on Murakami after being posted earlier this month .
Munetaka Murakami rounding the bases after a homer in 2023. AP
The 25-year-old third baseman hit 246 homers in his eight seasons in the Nippon Professional Baseball, including a record 56 blasts in 2022.
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The Post's Jon Heyman ranked him ninth among this year's free agents and projected a six-year, $150 million contract.
The Dodgers have third baseman Max Muncy under contract for $10 million for the upcoming season, although they could always use Murakami — or Muncy — as a designated hitter.
That Los Angeles has players like Ohtani, Yamamoto, Sasaki and former MVPs in Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman and is still in a position to spend lavishly is a testament to the team's ownership and how the franchise has structured contracts to afford these big-ticket items.
Some have wondered if the Dodgers will be in on top free agent Kyle Tucker due to the lack of outfield production in the postseason.
It seems the rich will be getting richer, one way or another.
