Japanese newspaper Sankei Sports reported on the 19th (hereinafter Korean time) that ‘President Friedman, who leads the Dodgers, a prestigious major league club, visited the training ground of the Japanese national team with three staff members.’토토사이트
Andrew Friedman, president of the Los Angeles Dodgers, visited the World Baseball Classic (WBC) Japan national team Miyazaki camp. It’s because there are players who are coveted by anyone. Yoshinobu Yamamoto, who is aiming to advance to the major leagues after this season, and Roki Sasaki, the best young pitchers in Japan, and Munetaka Murakami should be regarded as superstars who stimulate Friedman’s taste.
In particular, in an interview with the Japanese media, President Friedman said, “I heard that Yamamoto is a pitcher with great qualities and has a great passion for baseball. We will prepare when he is posted.”
Yamamoto is the best pitcher in the NPB, winning the Pacific League Sawamura Award and MVP for two consecutive years. After this season, he can get approval from the Orix Buffaloes and advance to the major leagues.
Fangraphs, specializing in major league statistics, said of Yamamoto, “In 2022, an average of 93 to 95 mph fastballs can easily be sown to 96 to 97 mph, with a maximum of 99 mph.” He also has a rainbow curveball and tremendous control to put a splitter in the low 90s where he wants it,’ he says.
The reason why the Dodgers are greedy for Yamamoto is because of concerns that the starting lineup may disintegrate after this season. With spring training just beginning, the Dodgers’ rotation this year is Julio Urias, Clayton Kershaw, Tony Gonsolin,
Among them, Yurias, Kershaw, and Syndergaard will qualify as free agents at the end of this year. Kershaw and Syndergaard both signed one-year contracts this offseason, and will be free agents again. Kershaw suffered from injuries for two years in a row and was contemplating retirement, and Syndergaard returned last year after undergoing elbow surgery and threw 134⅔ innings, which is a risk. 2024 cannot be predicted.
The problem is Yurias. The prospect that he is likely to leave the Dodgers is dominant. USA Today’s Bob Nightingale said on the 20th, ‘It is unlikely that Urias will remain with the Dodgers after this season. Close acquaintances are convinced that Yurias, who was greatly disappointed in the fact that the Dodgers club set the pitch limit during his career, will say goodbye to the Dodgers when he becomes a free agent after this season.”
Urias threw a total of 2,622 pitches in 31 starts last season, averaging 85 pitches per start. The highest number of pitches was 101, and only 12 games threw 90 or more. Yurias, who had always been dissatisfied with this part, finally became a ‘free body’ at the end of this year.
The market value of Urias has risen to more than $200 million. In 2021-2022, for two consecutive seasons, the stock price increased by showing off Cy Young-level pitching. In 2021, he threw 185⅔ innings in 32 games and recorded 20 wins and 3 losses, an average ERA of 2.96, and last year marked 17 wins and 7 losses and an average ERA of 2.16 over 175 innings in 31 games. In particular, last season, he ranked first in the National League ERA and ranked third in the Cy Young Award voting.
In a situation where it is unclear whether the three pitchers will remain, the Dodgers rotation for 2024 is only Gonsolin and May, and Walker Buehler, who received Tommy John surgery in August last year.
The Dodgers are also flirting with Shohei Ohtani, the biggest player in the free agent market this year. Here’s a situation that caught Yamamoto internationally on the radar. Ohtani’s ransom is worth more than $500 million. Yamamoto also has to pay 150 million dollars if he goes through posting. If they want to catch Urias, the Dodgers will have to invest a whopping $850 million in three pitchers. physically impossible