Dodgers' NL West Rival Giants Were Reportedly Serious Players for Yoshinobu Yamamoto

The Giants swing and miss yet again in free agency...

Thus far in the free agency period, the Los Angeles Dodgers have come away as the big winners. 

Landing a transcendent player in Shohei Ohtani was one thing. Going out and then adding the top pitcher on the market, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, truly signified this franchise's dedication to winning at the highest level both in the interim and the future. 

Other clubs have tried to make moves to improve their teams. L.A.'s biggest rival -- the San Francisco Giants -- has gone 'big game hunting' for the past few years. As the narrative goes, San Francisco has failed to make a marquee signing. 

As if rubbing salt in an open wound wasn't bad enough, Yamamoto's agent Joel Wolfe candidly opened up on the possibility that his client could've quite easily ended up in the Bay Area...if it weren't for the Dodgers. 

Yoshinobu Yamamoto's agent, Joel Wolfe: "He thought that San Francisco really reminded him of Osaka and thought it was a beautiful city. ... If the Dodgers had not been pursuing him, there was a good chance San Francisco could have been his destination."

— Dylan Hernández (@dylanohernandez) December 28, 2023

This is a tough pill to swallow for the Giants. The franchise wants to win and does truthfully have a very impressive history of winning. 

San Francisco desperately wants to pair another frontline starter next to Logan Webb. The lineup could use some juice as well, though the team did give $113 million to Korean outfielder Jung Hoo Lee. 

Yamamoto checked a lot of the boxes for the Giants. He's a premier pitcher at only 25 years of age. There's a large Japanese/Asian population in the Bay Area. Whether a franchise will publicly admit it or not, the marketing element here is massive. 

A financial windfall will surely come from Yamamoto's native land when it comes to airing games in Japan -- not to mention the expected selling of merchandise and those flying across the Pacific Ocean to see him play. 

“As a member of the Dodgers, I promise to all the fans of LA that I will focus my everything to become a better player and to become a world champion.” pic.twitter.com/5TyCfNmyBK

— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) December 28, 2023

All of the perks described above will be enjoyed by the Dodgers (much to the chagrin of their rivals to the north). 

In terms of a silver lining, Yamamoto (through his agent) did give the city itself some positive reviews. In recent times, San Francisco has been somewhat maligned by those in the media as being a place where free agents are hesitant to play. Whether those generalities are true or not, the fact remains that the Giants have had issues landing big-time free agents. 

As it were, the Dodgers do not share that problem. After locking up Ohtani and Yamamoto to long-term deals, L.A. still appears to be aggressive both in the free agent pool and in the trade market.