They spent an astronomical $700 million to acquire Shohei Ohtani, but it doesn’t end there. The LA Dodgers’ next target is Yoshinobu Yamamoto, the biggest name in Major League Baseball’s free agent pitching market.

John Heyman, a columnist for the New York Post, wrote on his social media account on the 10th (KST), “The Dodgers are still interested in the free agent market. They can afford to keep Shohei Ohtani and then Yamamoto,” he said.

“The Dodgers signed Ohtani to a 10-year, $700 million (approx. KRW 92.4 billion) contract,” multiple media outlets including ESPN and MLB.com, the official website of Major League Baseball, reported on the 10th. Ohtani himself announced the news of his signing with the Dodgers on social media.

The deal makes Ohtani the highest-paid player in North American sports history. The previous record was 10 years and $450 million for Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes in the National Football League (NFL). In Major League Baseball, Los Angeles Angels superstar Mike Trout signed a 12-year, $426.5 million contract.

The Dodgers, the undisputed champions of the National League West, went 100-62 this season, finishing 16 games ahead of the Arizona Diamondbacks for first place in the West, but were swept in the Division Series by Arizona, 먹튀검증 who came from behind to win the Wild Card Series, in three games.

The Dodgers are a seven-time World Series champion.

However, their last championship, in 2020, was a shortened season due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Their last championship in a full season was in 1988.

The Dodgers plan to pursue Ohtani, as well as Yamamoto, the biggest name in the pitching free agent market, to fulfill their desire for a full-time championship.

Ohtani, a two-hitter, will not take the mound next season after undergoing elbow surgery in September. The Dodgers, who have struggled on the mound this year as their starting rotation has fallen apart, are not in the free agent market. Yamamoto is also seen as an upgrade to the Dodgers’ starting rotation, which lacks a clear-cut ace.

Yamamoto is a top-tier right-hander with a 70-29 record and 1.82 ERA in 172 career Nippon Professional Baseball games. He became the first pitcher in NPB history to win five pitching titles in consecutive years (2021 and 2022) and won the Sawamura Award, Japan’s Cy Young Award, for three consecutive years. This season, he continued his dominance with the NPB Oryx Buffaloes, going 16-6 with a 1.21 ERA in 23 games, and announced his move to the big leagues via the posting system.

John Heyman writes, “It remains to be seen how Ohtani’s move to the Dodgers will affect Yamamoto. But it’s a three-way race for Yamamoto, 토토사이트 with the Dodgers, New York Mets, and New York Yankees in the mix,” said John Hayman, referring to the Dodgers’ potential additions.