Dodgers Shifting Focus to Top Starting Pitcher After Shohei Ohtani Deal, Per New York Post Insider

The Dodgers aren't stopping with just Ohtani it seems.

Shohei Ohtani is officially a member of the Los Angeles Dodgers, but that doesn't mean the team is going to stop working to improve themselves. In fact, LA still has a lot of work to do this offseason to put the roster into a prime position to win the World Series.

Ohtani won't be pitching this coming season, so the starting rotation is still a work in progress. But MLB insider Jon Heyman of The New York Post is still saying that despite signing Ohtani, the Dodgers are now shifting their focus over to landing top starting pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto on the open market.

Yes, the Dodgers are still interested in and can still afford Yoshinobu Yamamoto. Uncertain though, how the Ohtani signing may affect their chances, pro or con. The three perceived favorites: 1. Mets 2. Yankees 3. Dodgers

— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) December 10, 2023

L.A. may not be able to land Yamamoto after the $700 million contract handed out to Ohtani, but they are going to try. He has long been one of their main targets this offseason and the team is determined to upgrade their pitching rotation.

Yamamoto is seen by many around the game of baseball as the best pitcher to come over from Japan, and he is only 25 years old still. This has sparked major interest around the game, with multiple teams vying for his services.

The biggest competitors to the Dodgers for Yamamoto have long been thought to be the New York clubs, and the Japanese pitcher has been believed to want to play in a big market. He also may prefer to play on the West Coast, which would help the Dodgers out quite a bit.

There has been a lot of talk about the Dodgers landing both Ohtani and Yamamoto this winter, and it's still a possibility. They have one of the two, now it's time for the Dodgers front office to land the other.