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The Los Angeles Dodgers might have a problem on their hand with $325 million rookie Yoshinobu Yamamoto.
LA won the race for the highly coveted 25-year-old Japanese ace by inking to the longest and most lucrative contract for a pitcher in major league history.
But Yamamoto struggled mightily in Spring Training, posting an 8.38 ERA in three Cactus League stars, and now those struggles have continued into the regular season.
Yoshinobu Yamamoto's MLB debut lasts just one inning pic.twitter.com/VzkjEuwnZb
— Talkin’ Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) March 21, 2024
Yamamoto made his Major League Baseball debut on Thursday morning against the San Diego Padres in the second game of the inaugural Seoul Series. Unfortunately for both he and the Dodgers, it was an utter disaster.
Yamamoto pitched just one inning, allowing five earned runs on four hits and a walk. He struck out just one batter and threw 43 pitches.
Not great!
Fans Call Yoshinobu Yamamoto A Bust After Horrid MLB Debut
As you’d expect, fans had measured reactions…
“The Dodgers paid how much for this guy? This after posting a 8.38 ERA and 1.97 WHIP in spring training,” oen tweeted.
“Maybe, you know, dont give a guy who’s never thrown a single MLB pitch 300+ million before he has a chance to prove himself,” said another.
Yamamoto has plenty of time to come good. And there are plenty of reasons to believe he will. But first impressions last a lifetime, and this certainly wasn’t a good one.
It’s particularly bad timing when you consider what’s going on with the Dodgers’ other superstar free agent.
Fellow Japanese superstar Shohei Ohtani is currently engaged in a betting scandal that allegedly involved his interpreter, Ippei Mizuhara.
Ohtani’s lawyers allege that the interpreter stole millions of dollars from the former American League MVP to pay off large gambling debts.
“In the course of responding to recent media inquiries, we discovered that Shohei has been the victim of a massive theft, and we are turning the matter over to the authorities,” a statement from Berk Brettler LLP read.
So yeah, things are going great over there in LA.